Dead Space: Before the Moon
by Leks Bronks
Summary: After the Sprawl and before Tau Volantis, there was New Horizons - a dark, little corner of space where a hopeful new alliance was formed.
1. Chapter 1

**Dead Space: Before the Moon  
** A Dead Space Fanfiction

* * *

 _I've always wanted to write about what happened between Isaac and Ellie in that short period following the Sprawl, between Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. I made a poor attempt at it some years ago, but never finished it. For some reason, I felt inspired to revisit it all these years later. Enjoy._

 _Story is in DRAFT MODE, and all material contained herein is subject to change without notice. Will be updated with more chapters as time permits. Feedback welcome._

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Isaac Clarke and Ellie Langford shared a long, discomfiting silence in the cockpit of the stolen gunship as they fled Titan Station, trying desperately to outrun the fallout from its failing nuclear reactor. They watched in horror as the entire station lit up with the intensity of a solar flare then violently exploded, casting every particle of its existence outward in a massive spallation. Both were well aware they were dangerously within the blast radius, but neither could react on it in any way. They were spellbound, helpless to do anything but watch as the cataclysm unfolded throughout space in an utterly surreal ballet of absolute silence. In that moment, all time came to a beautiful, screeching halt.

 _ **EETEETEETEETEET**_

Shaken by the sound of an incoming impact alarm, they braced themselves as a series of shockwaves suddenly slammed into the ship. The silence all around was shattered by loud, jarring roars that tore through the ship, and after the last of the shockwaves had passed and the ship finally stabilized, Ellie unhinged her stare from the disastrous view outside the cockpit window to shoot a frightened glance at the ship's status screen.

"Wow... that was intense. But I think we made it!"

Isaac didn't hear her; all he could hear was the same thing he had for as long as he could remember - the incessant screaming of the necromorph horde, their thousands of voices, calling his name over and over. Nor could he partake in Ellie's rejoice, consumed by the fear that none of this was real, and that at any moment he would awaken back inside the cold, dark Machine. The very same way he had so many times before.

Suddenly sensing eyes upon his back, Isaac slowly looked over his shoulder.

"What?"

Contrary to whatever dark, underlying expectations he might have had, Isaac found himself confronted only by an expression of angelic curiosity upon Ellie's face as she stared back at him, awaiting his response. Isaac's tense scowl slowly loosened into a glassy-eyed stare of uncertainty.

"Why… are you looking at me like that, Isaac? What's wrong?"

He continued to stare at her without a word, until she felt compelled to lower her eyes.

"Ok... Let's just get out of here then."

She turned her attention to the navigation controls and initiated a course scan all nearby locations. While the database sifted through flight patterns and star charts she briefly side glanced him again, noting his hunched posture and weary, dead-eyed stare out the cockpit window. Figuring he wasn't about to say anything, she looked away without a word.

"We can't go back to Earth."

At the sound of his voice Ellie bent a curious eyebrow, and checked on the ship's engine status.

"Sure we can, we've got an impulse drive, and it appears to be working -"

"No. I mean, I can't go back to Earth. Period."

"Can't go back? ... Why?"

"I just can't. Something bad will happen if I do."

He slowly dropped sad, tired eyes to the floor, a reaction that started to make her wonder.

"What is it?... Do you really think that EarthGov is going to come after us?"

He didn't answer her. Figuring she had guessed correctly, she thought to try reassuring him.

"Look, whatever reason Tiedemann was after you for, whatever you had to do with that Marker, it doesn't matter. It's all gone, along with him and anyone else who could have said anything. I don't see why you'd be worried anyway, we did nothing wrong. We only did what we had to do to survive. No one could have escaped, and that's what they're going to think."

Isaac looked up and glared directly at her.

"W _e did_ escape. If they don't find my corpse, they're going to assume I am alive and come looking for me. I'm from Earth, so that is the first place they'll go. They're already searching through whatever log reports they can find from the station's remote backup right now, looking for any signs of outbound traffic from the station right before it went down... I guarantee it."

"Are you kidding me? You think they can actually find anything? And are you even worth their time?"

He just looked away, shaking his head, and his level of concern was baffling. With practically no knowledge of his clandestine ties to the Marker, Ellie had little reason to think that she and Isaac were anything more than survivors of a terrible incident. They certainly were not the type of people to end up on a high-profile government hit list. At least she thought.

"We didn't do anything wrong. I think you're blowing it out of proportion, Isaac."

She smiled at him, but Isaac wasn't appeased by her attempts to encourage him. Unbeknownst to her, he wasn't so much troubled by the prospect of living out the rest of his days as a fugitive as he was by what it was that Daina had told him - hours earlier back on the Sprawl, during his escape from the hospital. He could not forget her baneful, omen-like words, each and every syllable etched into his memory like the recollection of an unshakable nightmare.

 _"The Marker you found imprinted your brain with a self-replicating signal. The longer you're awake, the more the signal spreads. The longer you're awake, the more the signal spreads. The more the signal spreads. The more the signal -"  
_

Isaac tensely scratched the back of his head.

"You don't understand. It's not about that."

When he said this, the gears in Ellie's mind started turning as she considered what else he might have done to invoke such a fear in him. She thought about the various things they had done together aboard the Sprawl, and about everything she had come to learn about Isaac in that time, short as it was.

"What you had told me back there, about the Ishimura. You were going to tell me something. What was it?"

When she breached the subject of the Ishimura, Isaac slowly closed his eyes. Only his sad, labored breathing served to break the quiet, spurring Ellie to take compassion on him. She dropped it.

"Hey. Whatever it is... what _ever_ it is that happened to you out there... It's over. You're okay."

He drew a deep breath in an attempt to bear the weight of an unspeakable sense of regret he could not properly express to her.

"This whole thing started right after I woke up. This is my fault. This whole thing... it's my fault."

"No. Don't do that. Don't start blaming yourself for any of this."

Isaac felt ashamed at her words. He knew he could trust her, and he wanted so much to tell her all about what had happened to him. But there was too much to explain now, it was all too painful, and the voices in his head were simply too loud. He couldn't think clearly.

"Look... let's talk about this later. You're exhausted, and so am I."

After a concerned glance at him, Ellie released an awkward sigh.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Well... I guess the next question is, where do we go from here?"

"I don't know. Someplace where we can disappear. I need to stay away from people."

She nodded affirmatively.

"Got it."

"Somewhere they don't ask questions about Markers, alien infested space stations... or hijacked gunships. Seriously, we gotta ditch this fucking thing. It can be traced."

"Ok ok, I got it."

At that moment, the crudely fashioned bandage patched over her wounded eye finally caught his attention as if he had not noticed it before, and its glaring presence reminded him of the of the sacrifice she had unwillingly made on his behalf. Still she was willing and eager to help him apparently, and thinking he had perhaps been acting a little insensate toward her considering her efforts, he tried to dial it back.

"... You okay? We really need to get your eye looked at. Very first thing."

Ellie gingerly touched her makeshift eyepatch, having forgotten all about it in the excitement of their escape.

"Oh... yeah, right. I feel fine, really. Wasn't even thinking about it."

She waited for an answer but he didn't answer her, leaving her to wonder if he had even heard her. He seemed to be increasingly distracted by something - he kept rubbing his left arm, his eyelids were drawn tensely shut, and his skin was veiled in sweat despite the cockpit's temperature being at a reasonable level. Curious to know what was wrong she flipped on the emergency lights, and as soon as they cast their glow throughout the cockpit, she saw that there were two large puncture wounds through Isaac's left shoulder. Her eye stretched wide with alarm at the long trails of blood running down his arm on either side.

"Oh my god, – have you been shot?!"

Isaac raised his left hand to shield himself from the sudden intrusion of light, and he groaned. Ellie then saw that there was a gaping hole right through the palm of his hand, crowned on the back side by a mangled mess of flesh and torn polychloroprene fabric fragments from his suit as if something had punctured straight through from side to side. Sensing her shadow hovering over him he looked up at her, and saw the spreading panic upon her face.

"Fucking Tiedemann. Prick shot me with a javelin gun."

"Shit... and you're worried about me. Why didn't you say anything, you dumbass?"

"I'm fine."

Her lip curled as she examined the chunks of muscle and sinew clinging to the back of his hand.

"You are certainly _not_ fine, Isaac. This looks terrible! Can you move your fingers?"

Isaac attempted to squeeze the fingers of his left hand together into a fist, but the digits did little more than flex feebly. Realizing they were running out of time, she sat back in her seat, and started rubbing the sides of her face.

"Ok... ok. Think. Somewhere safe where can we go. Low profile."

Watching the tiny dark pinpoint of her eye dart feverishly about in a frantic stream of thought, Isaac prompted her.

"What is it?"

"Well... I was thinking that I do know a place, where I've got a... a contact."

"Contact?"

"Yeah. You know. Someone who, might be able to help people like us. In a situation."

Isaac's eyes locked dead upon her, trapped somewhere between a sense of consternation and piqued amusement. Savvy and street smart she had clearly proven to be, but the more he listened to her, the more he started to wonder exactly how deep her resourcefulness actually went.

"... I don't want you involved in any of this."

She just stared back at him, not sure what to say. Isaac relented with a hint of annoyance.

"... Where is this place you're talking about?"

"It's called New Horizons."

Recognizing the name of Earth moon Luna's orbiting space colony, he shook his head.

"No."

"Isaac, hear me out -''

"No! I told you, I'm not going back to Earth... New Horizons is right off the goddamn moon, are you crazy?"

She shrugged her shoulders, feeling the need to take up the defensive.

"What else can we do? Look, it's the only place where I know anybody that could help us. Our options are limited. You know this ship is registered - we can't just leave it somewhere and walk away! We have to be smart."

Isaac muttered under his breath.

"Fuck."

"We need a back door, Isaac. I know it's a little close to home, but... it's all I got right now. Unless you have a better suggestion?"

Again, all he could respond with was browbeaten deference.

"... Fuck."

"Even if they really wanted to come after you... a space colony is the best place to go if you want to disappear. Places like that don't ask questions, and they certainly don't like to cooperate with government snoops. At the very least, it'll give us enough time to get rid of the ship, find someplace to rest, and figure out what the hell we're going to do next."

He certainly wasn't comfortable with her suggestion, but Isaac conceded. With being stranded out in space or running the risk of being detected in unfamiliar territory as their only other options, there was little room for choice.

"... Sure. Whatever. We gotta do something, right?"

Ellie started to reach for the outbound communications panel. Before she could turn it on, Isaac suddenly lashed out, grabbed her hand, and pulled it away.

"No, don't!"

Ellie looked at him with alarm.

"Hey, what the hell?"

Isaac slowly released her hand, and shriveled back in his seat.

"They could be listening for us. Waiting for a broadcast. Just like the Valor."

Pulling her hand back to rub it, Ellie bent an eyebrow.

"The what?"

Isaac pointed dismissively at the communication panel.

"Nevermind. Just don't send out any messages right now. Don't even turn it on. First, we have to get as far away from here as possible."

His anxiety was palpable to her, but understanding the urgent need to act Ellie immediately set to entering the coordinates for New Horizons. The engine kicked in, and the ship began to accelerate past the empty void of what was once the Sprawl. As they headed toward the stars Isaac stared dazedly through half open eyes out the window, listening to the voice that kept rolling through his mind over and over.

 **there is no death there is only rebirth**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

 _Darkness falls. Voices rise. Amidst a steady white noise, their calls overcome everything to take precedence. He recognizes their screams, engraved into the back of his mind, forever the same message._

 **make us whole** ** **come back come back come back****

 _The sounds begin to blend into a stream of dialogue, becoming more and more recognizable as a single voice, repeating the same thing, over and over._

 ** **come back**** ** **come back come**** PNO-9 PNO-9 ****come back**** KR-12 ****come back come**** in _._ Come in

Isaac awoke to the sound of Ellie's voice, intermittently repeating over and over. He pushed himself up, and drew a sharp, stinging breath as the pain of his wounds descended upon his outer awareness. He looked around the cockpit with a confused gaze until he saw Ellie at the controls, flipping various channel switches and speaking into the wireless communicator.

"PNO-9, this is KR-12... Come in, PNO-9 _."_

Isaac then became aware of a tight feeling around his left shoulder. He looked at it and saw there was a cloth wrapped around it, fashioned into a tourniquet and beginning to soak through with blood. He then looked at his hand and saw it too was tightly wrapped with gauze in an attempt to stall the bleeding.

"Agh, damnit!"

His eyes shot back to Ellie as she cried out with frustration then thrust herself back into the seat, pressing her hands to her face. He started to move, but the stabbing soreness of his shoulder forced him to immediately stop and release a stifled groan. Ellie froze for a second, then realizing he was awake she straightened her back, composed herself, and tossed a blank look at him.

"Hey. How you doing?"

He nodded sluggishly, and motioned to his shoulder.

"I'm alright. Thanks, by the way."

She returned with a mild smile.

"It was bleeding pretty badly, I had to do something. It won't hold forever, but it'll do until we get there."

Feeling a bit dazed, Isaac just sat there quietly for a moment, processing. He looked at the radio, and he pointed at it.

"Who are you talking to?"

She shook her head and shrugged with a dismal look.

"No one, apparently. I've been trying to get a hold of my contact for about an hour now, but I've got nothing."

Taking notice of the perturbed look on his face, she sought to reassure him.

"Don't worry. I'm using a private channel. We're still out in the sticks, anyway, there's no one around to hear us. But I figured we'd be close enough to get through to him by now."

Still not feeling particularly sold on her idea of involving a third party, he just pressed his hand to his chin and looked nervously about. He then glanced out the window, and saw there were no planetary bodies in sight - just the sun, encompassed within an endless blanket of stars.

"Where are we?"

"Not too far from Earth, now. We passed Mars sector about an hour ago."

As he stared at the stars pulsating in the imperceptible distance, a doubting voice began to speak to him.

 **come back  
**

Entranced by it, Isaac sat in silence and listened to it as it filled him with an unexplained sense of doubt. Just as he was about to turn to Ellie and voice his lack of confidence in their plan, the radio suddenly lit up with an incoming transmission. The instant she saw it Ellie seized upon it like a hawk, which struck down any hope Isaac may have had that they might just turn around and vanish somewhere without a trace.

"PNO-9? Come in!"

Ellie paused, then broke a large smile as she finally recognized the responding voice.

 _"This is PNO-9. Nice to hear from you, where've you been?. Go ahead, over."  
_

"I know, it's been a long time. I've been busy. But, good news - you might see me again sooner than you think. Over."

A series of jagged, static rips tore through the transmission as the transponder fought to hone in on the signal.

 _"Oh... -at right? ... running hot or something? Over."_

Making adjustments to boost the signal, Ellie chuckled.

"Ohoh, well I suppose that depends on what your definition of 'hot' is. Over."

 _"You know what my definition is... Over."_

The grin began to fade from her face.

"It's nothing you can't handle. Look, I hate to just come at you like this after all these years, but, I could really use a little help right now."

 _"Listening."_

"We got caught in a bad situation out here, and we're stranded... we had to find a way back. And now, we just have to... unload some stuff, you know what I mean? Hoping you could lend a hand. Over."

A brief silence followed.

 _"... 'We'?"_

Ellie tossed a glance at Isaac, whom she realized had been staring at her the entire time.

"Yeah... I've got someone with me. I hope that won't be a problem. Over."

 _"... Right. Soooo, how far out are you? Over."_

"We're not far now. Probably a couple of hours. Over."

 _"Alright. Come straight here, take the western side to avoid the main traffic. Buzz me when you're at the gate. Over."_

Ellie's face spread with a wide grin of relief.

"Thanks. I really appreciate this, I owe you big time. Over."

 _"We'll talk about that when you get here."_

"Yeah, we will. See you soon. KR-12, Over and out."

Ellie flipped the switch, cutting the transmission and sending the radio into darkness. She leaned back in her seat, her smile growing as she planted her hands behind her head.

"See? We'll be fine."

He tried to relax, and to accept Ellie's confidence in her friend, but in his frenzied state of mind, the idea of coming to any center was beyond impossible for Isaac. Curious, he started probing her.

"So... who is this character, anyway?"

"His name is Alan. He's an old friend of my father's. I used to work for him when I was a kid."

"Oh, yeah? Doing what?"

Ellie shot a quick, tight glance at him, then back to the controls.

"Logistics pilot. It's a long story, we can get into it later."

"Can we trust him? What's he gonna do for us?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. We can trust him. And he's a junker."

Isaac paused, and his eyebrows lifted a little as he immediately understood the potential benefit.

"Oh... Yeah, well, that is pretty helpful. So, I take it he does this kind of thing for a living?"

Again she glanced at him, this time for slightly longer and appearing to be running short on patience with his line of questioning.

"No, not really. He owns one of the largest industrial storage lots on Luna. He just... happens to be in a business that... works well for other needs, too. Like, the need for us to get rid of this ship. Put it that way."

Upon the conclusion of her wavering explanation, she nodded affirmatively.

"Seriously, Isaac. Don't worry. We're going to be okay."

He didn't respond but turned his attention back to the window in total silence, burning with Marker passages and pessimistic thoughts in his mind. At first Ellie found the sudden dead silence between them to be rather awkward, considering how open they had been with one another up to this point, but she didn't take it too seriously. She eventually followed Isaac's lead and turned her attention out the window as they made the last stretch of their journey, and after a while, they both came to appreciate the peaceful respite of silence.

Some time later, the navigation system's klaxon call alerted them of their approach at the designated coordinates, finally breaking the trance of silence that had enraptured them both for over an hour. Isaac, who had been resting with eyes closed and his mind turned inward, finally opened his eyes and looked out the window to see that the endless void of space had given way to the floating colony structures and bright lights of New Horizons, hovering just off the glowing white surface of Luna. The expansive space colony, which was more like a bustling, spacebound metropolis, surprised Isaac when he saw it. It had been several years since he had last been to New Horizons, which although had already been established for a long time, didn't appear to be anything like what Isaac had in his memory.

"Damn, this place really exploded, didn't it?"

As Ellie applied pressure to the engines they became a bit louder, and when she didn't answer him he assumed that the rumbling sound had drowned out his voice and caused her to miss the question. Isaac didn't bother asking her again, but turned back to the window and gazed with wonder at the massive, sky-reaching structures and endless interchanges of walkways and traffic lanes flecked with people. The ship finally passed beyond the perimeter of the colony's outer edge and onto the darkened side of Luna away from the sun. Ellie curled the ship about and came to a halt before a gargantuan hangar gate, marred by countless nicks and deep gouges which appeared to be decades old.

Holding their position, Ellie turned on the radio and spoke gently into the receiver.

"PNO-9, this is KR-12. We're in position. Open her up."

 _"... KR-12, you are clear for entry."_

The two of them listened as a gentle electronic ping of the airlock system echoed through the cockpit, and after a few moments the heavy metal gate in front of them began to open. Ellie gripped the controls.

"Here we go."

She initiated the engine and the ship scuttled forward past the open gates, heading toward a small runway surrounded by heaps of discarded intergalactic materials which were locked down into massive bundles readied for transport. At the northern end of the cluttered lot stood a small, nondescript warehouse with several air lock expulsion gates around its perimeter. Isaac took in every detail he could see as the ship landed on an empty landing pad, and once the ship finally settled on its feet and the weary purr of the engines died down, Ellie set the brakes and waited until the giant hangar gates had closed before disengaging the hatch. When the hangar was sealed and the area re-pressurized, she opened the hatch and stood before Isaac, offering him her hand.

"You good to go?"

He nodded, gripped her hand and slowly rose to his feet as she pulled him up. He felt cramped and his wounds were stinging, so he braced his hands against his back and started to stretch as best he could. Just as he glanced out the window, he caught the shadow of someone walking along the dock outside. He stepped backward toward the hatch, and motioned to Ellie.

"Yeah. Let's go."

She led the way out of the ship and they both stepped down onto the dock. The area's flood lights were harsh on Isaac's eyes, forcing him to follow Ellie's shadow down the dock and toward their awaiting company. Through a tight squint Isaac could make out a man standing at the end of the walkway, wrapped in a thermal canvas work cloak. Calmly perched at the man's side was a large, dark dog, maybe a German shepherd mottled with grey hairs, suited in a protective vest and tilting its head inquisitively at them. About halfway down the dock, Ellie slowed her pace until she was walking directly next to him, and whispered to him.

"What's your middle name?"

Isaac shot a side glance at her.

"Why?"

"Just tell me."

Caught unprepared by her request, he stammered.

"It's... It's Paul."

Ellie nodded, and as they came within earshot of their host she stepped forward with a smile on her face, and opened her arms.

"Hey there, you old fool."

The cloaked man smiled and stepped forward, accepting Ellie's embrace. They hugged for a moment, then pulled back to look at each other.

"Damn, it's nice to see you again, Ellie. Where the heck have you been, kid?"

With a large smile, Ellie stooped to her knees and began to give the dog a gentle rub around the ears as it sniffed her excitedly with recognition.

"Oh, you know me. I've been working off shore a lot these days. You look great, and so does Roxy, here. Damn, how old is she now? I can't believe she's still alive."

Alan smiled and stepped back, looking Ellie over as she pet the dog.

"Same old, here. I see you haven't changed much - Roxy has no trouble remembering you."

The man smiled with what Isaac perceived to be a hint of parental affection as he looked at Ellie, who after incurring a few licks of fondness from the dog, rose again to embrace the man a second time. As they hugged, the man's eyes finally met with Isaac's over her shoulder, and he released his embrace from her to pull down the scarf-like collar of his cloak from around his face and introduce himself.

"Hi there, you must be Ellie's tag-along. Name's Alan."

Isaac looked him over as the man smiled with puffy, chaffed lips and held out his hand. He was much older than Isaac was, with a rather frail and unassuming stature, not too tall or large. He had a sparse, peppered grey beard, pink, spider-veined skin stretching across his face and cheeks, and a pair of piercing blue eyes that stuck out like pinpoints from beneath the rolled up brim of his knit wool cap. Isaac finally took the man's hand to return the handshake, but before he could say anything, Ellie cut in.

"Alan, this is Paul. He's a co-worker of mine."

Upon Ellie's interjection Isaac shot her a glance, impressed with her preemptive thinking.

 _So that's why she wanted to know... Smart girl._

Alan began to nod with amusement in response.

"Oh, welcome to the jungle, son. You look like you seen a deployment or two. Where you hail from?"

Isaac was hesitant about revealing any details about himself, but he wasn't feeling well enough to come up with something on the fly, and he didn't want to appear to be rude.

"Uhh, Earth. Northeastern seaboard, near New York."

Alan nodded thoughtfully, then tucked his hands into his pockets

"Ah, yeah. Nice, when it isn't winter time. From Chesapeake, myself. 'Course, it don't exist no more."

Alan finally shot an inquisitive glance at the gunship sitting behind them on the landing pad.

"I suppose this is what you need help with."

Ellie nodded.

"Yeah, this is it."

Though he had immediately noticed their condition the moment he first laid eyes upon them, Alan finally ditched the formalities and brought the issue to light. He eyed them both up and down, taking a serious interest in Ellie's patched eye, and Isaac's bloodied shoulder.

"Can't help but notice you two... what the hell happened out there?"

Ellie cleared her throat.

"It was an accident. We got caught up in an explosion."

Alan's grey, tufted eyebrows raised with concern.

"An explosion? Hmm."

His eyes turned to Isaac.

"How about you, Paul? Looks like you got hit pretty bad."

Feeling weak and not sure how to respond, Isaac just shook his head.

"... Ellie can tell you all about it."

He looked down and saw that Roxy had made her way over and was now sitting at his feet, panting and looking into his eyes with friendly curiosity. Taking the opportunity to withdraw from the conversation, Isaac went down on one knee and began petting the dog, who responded with friendly licks at his hands. Realizing Isaac was secretly deferring Alan to her, Ellie drew the old man's attention back.

"Alan, we just need to dump this thing, get cleaned up and get our shit together. Think you can help us with that?"

Alan slowly nodded with a smile crimping his beard, and he took a few steps down the dock toward the gunship.

"Sure, no problem. Looks like a Mark VI Interstellar, and it's got Big Brother written all over it. This one would catch someone's eye for sure, I can see why you were worried. Won't be a problem after today, though."

He glanced down the side of the ship again, eying the weathered, fading EarthGov insignia etched into its flank. He turned back to Ellie.

"Don't suppose I should ask how you got your hands on it?"

Ellie and Isaac met eye contact for a moment, then she drew a long, deep sigh.

"Well, the truth is... we had to steal it. Paul and I were on a job, working a transport line when one of the fuel lines along the station ruptured. We had to eject, and this ship was the closest thing we could find to get out of there."

She looked up at Alan with concern in her eyes.

"Have you... heard anything recently? About what happened?"

Ellie had deliberately omitted mentioning the name of Titan Station, curious to see if news of their doings had already spread beyond Saturn. To her surprise - and to Isaac's dismay - the old man raised his eyebrows and solemnly shook his head.

"Oh... no. My god. You talking about Titan Station? Yeah, just heard about it in the reports today... you were there?"

Again, Isaac and Ellie nervously side glanced one other.

"Yeah. Some shrapnel from the explosion sent us off course and damn near tore through the freighter we were working on. Tossed us all over the place."

Alan just shook his head, somewhat sadly.

"Geez, tough break. Glad to see you made it out, though."

He looked down to see Roxy was whimpering like an impatient child at his heels, so he motioned with a wave of his hand and the dog broke into an excited gallop back toward the complex. Alan then turned to Ellie and Isaac.

"C'mon, let's get you folks cleaned up. Ya'll hungry? Got plenty to eat, if you are."

The three of them headed down the dock, Alan and Ellie side by side making small talk, as Isaac trailed quietly just behind them. As he silently pondered their situation, he kept glancing uneasily back at the gunship perched on the dock.

"Hey Alan, the ship gonna be okay back there? No one can see it, right?"

He heard Alan chuckle ahead of him.

"Don't worry. In thirty minutes, no one will ever know it even existed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
**

* * *

"Welcome aboard, folks."

Alan led Ellie and Isaac through the entrance doors and into the main annex of the complex, while Roxy ran excited circles around them.

"Make yourself at home. Oh, and don't mind the mess; it's just the way I like it."

Isaac started looking around at what appeared to be a warehouse, converted into a semi-living space with several large rooms partitioned off via movable steel curtain walls suspended from tracks along the ceiling. The rooms were packed with tools, equipment and other items, some of which appeared to have been left undisturbed in their packaging for a long period of time. It was obvious that the warehouse's main purpose was at some point for large-scale industrial waste processing and materials recycling, but seemingly now in its declining years along with the aging Alan, had become more of a personal storehouse and domicile. What made the place so interesting was the compliment of antique furniture, chotchkies, and knick-knacks, interspersed among the rest of the stock which perfectly offset the otherwise grungy environment. Even the steel walls had been covered over with aged, fading vintage wallpaper, and while poorly patched and out of alignment, still managed to invoke a sense of hominess that held the harshness of the warehouse's intent at bay. It was clear that Alan very much lived how he worked, and as Isaac gawked at the machinery - some of which he recognized to be older than himself - he felt a sense of empathy for the old man.

"Nice place. Lot of interesting stuff you got here."

Ellie looked around as well, but didn't appear to be as impressed.

"Hasn't been updated much since I was last here. You never change, do you?"

A grin spread on Alan's lips, revealing his yellowed, chipped teeth from beneath his dwarfish mustache.

"I'm a creature of habit, you know that."

They stopped in the middle of a large, open area that served as a den, with a pair of red velvet couches, a low-standing, round center table, and an oriental floor rug that had become so layered with dust over the years that one couldn't tell the original colors of the fabric. The sitting area's relaxing ambiance abruptly ended just beyond the edge of the rug, as it was surrounded by stacks of preacriously balanced boxes that lurched above their heads like a block of dilapidated towers threatening to collapse. On one of the walls hung a black beveled, roman numeral wall clock, and to its right a dismally neglected, moth-eaten, and practically petrified head of a deer mounted on a wooden plaque that must have been a century old, covered in dust, with one broken antler and the other completely missing. As he looked around at all the curious oddities that surrounded them, Isaac turned to Alan.

"How long have you been here?"

Alan looked up in thought, trying to reach that far back into his memory.

"Oh, about... what, 25 years now, I think. I started off running a little shop just off of Io, ages ago. That is, before EarthGov came in, shut down mining operations there and starved us out. Well, after that whole thing ended I wound up here, and never left. New Horizons has become home to me. Got everything I need, and if I don't, I send one of my boys out to go get it for me."

"There are other people here?"

"Of course. Can't run this place by myself - who do you think is taking care of that eyesore out there you kids brought with ya?"

While he shouldn't have been surprised that they weren't alone, Isaac's paranoia had hopelessly kicked into high gear. He couldn't escape the memory of what had happened just moments after waking up on the Sprawl, the fact that he had no control over events that somehow he felt personally responsible for. Nor could he shake the perpetual fear that without being able to control it - or even understand it - there was every probability that it would happen again.

The ensuing panic in Isaac's mind must have spread to his face, because Alan's tone suddenly changed.

"... Don't worry. You can trust them every bit as much as me."

In an attempt to encourage Isaac that there was nothing to worry about, Ellie chimed in.

"Hey Alan, so how are Nick and Pete doing? I haven't seen them in years, your boys must be all grown up by now."

"Oh sure. Got 'em working here full time for the most part - except Pete, he's in flight academy these days, so he comes in on and off."

"That's good to hear. I remember last time I saw Pete, he was just talking about going to school."

Alan was about to rattle on about his sons, when the urgency of their situation came back to mind.

"We can shoot the shit later. Let's get you two in the back, and start taking care of those nasty scuffs you got."

He let out a short whistle and Roxy dashed up to his side, following him with an anxiously wagging tail, and together they started off down the hallway toward the back of the building. Isaac and Ellie followed behind, passing by several rooms without doors that were stocked with piles of boxes and partially unpacked components. The overhead lighting throughout the warehouse was uneven, mainly concentrated toward the front of the building, so as they continued down the hall their path became dimmer and dimmer. The deep, thunderous purr of a large machine began to rise throughout the warehouse as they walked. Isaac recognized the muffled vibrating through the floor and walls to be the engine of a MAC crusher, probably stationed outside behind the building.

"Sorry about the lights, folks; I've been meaning to fix those. Watch your step."

They trailed Alan's silhouette down the darkened hallway until they both heard his footsteps drop off, then a brief jostling of keys. A moment later a burst of light appeared to the left, cutting a hole in the darkness to reveal a small makeshift medical clinic on the other side. Alan pushed the door open and walked in, beckoning them to follow.

"C'mon in, have a seat."

He snapped his fingers and Roxy took her post by the side of the door, sinking down on her haunches and watching with large, pining eyes as Isaac and Ellie both walked past her into the room. They looked around the 10'x10' space, noting that it clearly was not designed for much more than a storage room, but had been converted into a medical examination room. A couple of chairs, a rusty, wall mounted sink, an old style exam table, and a few cabinets lining the walls were all that dressed the area's plain, unrelenting whiteness, and the air was stale with the presence of old chloroxylenol and axle grease. Alan slowly made his way toward a rack affixed to the wall in the corner, he removed his work cloak and hung it on the rack, then rolled up the sleeves of his wrinkled, well-snagged oxford shirt. Ellie sat down in one of the two available seats and Isaac stood next to her, watching the old man.

"So you're a doctor, too?"

To Isaac's surprise, Alan shook his head as he washed his hands in the sink.

"Oh, no. Not formally trained, if that's what you mean. I've just learned a thing or two in my time. I can patch you up, at least well enough. No questions asked."

He slipped on a pair of surgical gloves, grabbed a small tray of tinctures and tools, then slowly made his way over to Ellie. He gently gripped her by the chin and began carefully examining the cuts and bruises around her eye patch, while simultaneously reaching into his shirt pocket to retrieve a pair of dirt smeared, _pince-nez_ style glasses.

"My god, girl. You get caught up in some mine shrapnel, or something? You are all cut up."

Ellie didn't say anything, and just sat quietly as Alan continued his examination, dabbing her face with somatic gauze to clean the blood away and induce the healing process. Once he had cleaned her face and neck, he carefully began to run his index finger along the edge of her eye patch.

"Ok, I'm gonna take this off, now. It might sting a little. Can you close your eyelid?"

"I don't know, I can't feel it. I think the whole eye is gone."

"Okay. Hold your breath, dear."

Alan slowly, cautiously began to peel back the bloodied eye patch, seeking to release the adhesive around the outer edge without rupturing the fragile, damaged skin underneath. As he pulled, a trail of blood suddenly seeped out and ran down her face. Ellie winced.

"You okay?"

Ellie squeezed her eye shut and clenched her teeth without a word as the eye patch finally came loose with a gentle snap, revealing the underlying injury. The moment Isaac saw a deep, dark chasm where her eyeball should have been, crying a tiny, fresh trail of blood, his eyes went wide, his jaw loosened and his skin went cold.

"Oh god... does it really look that bad?"

Not realizing that Ellie had been intently watching his reaction, Isaac now tried to appease her, not exactly in the most convincing fashion.

"No... no. It's not that bad. Really."

Ellie's eye nervously darted to Alan, who unlike Isaac, had not reacted with any discernible expression.

"Tell me Alan, how does it look?"

Alan gazed into the bloody, hollow gorge of her eye socket, watching the light glisten off the bone of her exposed skull where there was no skin to cover it. He drew a breath and sighed deeply, sending the mousy hairs of his beard scattering about beneath his nostrils.

"Well, you were right - it's been ripped clean out. Not much I can do but clean the socket, stitch some of the lacerations, set it with a mesh to heal, and re-patch it. If you want it replaced, you'll have to see someone a bit more qualified."

Ellie let out a small sigh of disappointment.

"...Oh."

"But the good news is that there is a doctor here in the colony who can do it. I can give you the address, if you want."

"Oh yeah? How much is something like that gonna set me back?"

Alan scratched his beard.

"I dunno; they've got different ranges, but you're probably gonna be looking at somewhere between 2 to 3 grand."

Knowing she didn't have access to that kind of capital - since Director Teidemann had erased her citizen's record, along with all possible access to any credit accounts she had - Ellie's heart sank in her chest. Isaac watched her every move, even the ones she thought he couldn't see, guessing that he knew what was going through her mind, but he kept silent. Alan then started turning his attention to some of her lesser wounds, removing her old, makeshift bandages, cleaning the skin and replacing the dressing. Once he had concluded his initial examination of her and taken care of her minor scrapes, he then turned to Isaac.

"Ok, let's see how well you fared, friend."

Isaac finally sat down in the chair next to Ellie as Alan straightened his glasses, and started looking closer at Isaac's arm.

"Let's get you out of this suit."

Alan walked over toward the sink, opened one of the cabinet drawers and retrieved a very large, sharp pair of surgical scissors. He then came back, ignoring the paling look on Isaac's face, and placed the blade of the scissors against his shoulder.

"All right, just sit still, I'm gonna cut it."

Isaac held his breath as Alan gently slid the tip of the scissors in through one of the existing holes in the polychloroprene fabric of his Advanced Suit, then started slowly cutting around the circumference of his upper arm. Once the sleeve had been severed from the rest of the suit, Alan pulled it down off of Isaac's arm and tossed it to the floor. He then pulled back the rest of the suit around Isaac's shoulder, exposing the dark, bloody javelin wound. Alan looked at it, and simply raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm."

His gaze then fell to Isaac's hand, and Isaac started unwrapping the gauze bandage until he had fully exposed the hole. Alan could see clear through the perfectly round hole in his palm to the other side, and again he raised eyebrows.

"Hmm..."

"What's that look for?"

"Very clean puncture wounds, both of 'em. Must've happened at close range, whatever it was."

Isaac hesitated, then nodded.

"... Yeah."

Alan paused, then looked up.

"Hmm. Looks pretty deliberate to me. Maybe it was an accident, maybe not."

He took a step back, ignoring the uneasy looks on their faces, trying not to pry in too much on their business.

"Fortunately for you the punctures didn't cause a lot of collateral damage, so it isn't as bad as it looks - or feels. It should heal rather easily."

He placed his fingertips on the top of Isaac's shoulder, and began gently kneading the area around the javelin wound, trying to feel for any fractures.

"It only got the flesh, no bone. Lucky. Might have a couple torn muscles. Nothing of real consequence."

He then reached for Isaac's hand and held it up, examining both sides.

"Might have some nerve damage there, but nothing a somatic gel plug won't be able to fix. Same with the shoulder; I think I can just fill it in and stitch the surface wounds, it should be able to regenerate enough on its own, and you should have full mobility back in about a week. You got any other areas of concern you want me to take a look at?"

Isaac started shifting in his seat; feeling the air against the bare skin of his arm, the desire to rid himself entirely of his suit was growing. He started reaching for the fasteners at his collar and chest.

"I don't think so. Mainly bruising on my side, my back."

"I see. Any head trauma? Back pain?"

"No... just the bruising. I might just have gone numb in my damn hand, though... It was really hurting before. Now, not so much."

Alan nodded, opening a drawer next to the sink to retrieve a hypodermic gel dispenser and some gauze dressing.

"Well, this shouldn't take too long, so let's get your hand taken care of first, before it gets any worse. Ellie'll take a little longer, but I should have you both back up in a couple hours. So Paul, why don't you come on over here to the table."

Unzipping the torso of his suit, Isaac pulled it off with a weary huff and tossed it to the floor. Even through the white t-back shirt he was wearing underneath, Ellie could see deep, dark patches of bruising that blotted the skin along his ribs and sides, and the shirt was soaked in sweat and blood stains. The skin of his arms, chest and abdomen was encrusted with a layer of dried blood that had spread throughout the interior of his suit from various wounds, but Isaac didn't seem to notice it. Reveling in the calm, cooling sensation of the air touching his skin, Isaac slowly rolled his head back, rose to his feet, and sluggishly made his way across the room toward the medical table, all the while feeling an urge to close his eyes creeping up on him. His ears went deaf, his vision blurred, the room darkened all around him.

"Hey, you feeling alright?"

He couldn't hear what Ellie had said as he stumbled toward the table then collapsed upon it, but it didn't concern him. For the moment, in her presence, he felt at peace.

* * *

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _A quiet, repetitive sound rises out of the darkness from somewhere far away. Unable to see anything around him, all Isaac can do is follow it. He stalks carefully through the darkness, trying to detect where the sound is coming from._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _He sees a small spark of light - the glow of a red alert beacon, suspended from the ceiling several feet down the hallway. In its faint glow he can barely detect the outline of a doorway, standing open. It seems the sound is coming from this direction, so Isaac presses on._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _He nears the open doorway, and hesitantly peers through it - something inside him prevents him from immediately stepping through. Suddenly, out of the corner of his left eye, he sees the shadow of movement._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _The sound gets louder. The shadow sways back and forth, back and forth, in time to the thick, visceral sound._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _Isaac leans in a little further and turns his head. There, at the end of the corridor, he sees a man standing close to the wall. Save for the red beacon there is no other light, and it is difficult for Isaac to see what the man is doing. All he sees is the man's black silhouette, wobbling back and forth._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _Compelled to get closer, Isaac starts slowly down the hall toward the man. He's tense, but for some reason has no weapon to brandish in his defense. He can only hope the man either doesn't notice him, or doesn't care. Fortunately, the man does not respond to Isaac's approach, but simply continues wavering back and forth on his knees._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _Isaac closes in, and still the man does not stir. He is now close enough to see that the man is not what he expected at all. Half of his torso is missing and the spine is completely exposed, partially distorted and twisted with mutation. From the chest up the body has been cleaved in half, leaving only the right side of his shoulders, neck and head, and the entire body is drenched in blood. The man doesn't appear to be alive, but rather the body is trapped in some repetitive display of involuntary muscle memory, bending at the waist on locked knees and banging what is left of his head against the wall over and over._

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

 _Unable to continue looking at the depraved sight, Isaac closes his eyes. The pounding of the man's head against the wall begins to stir the voices, chanting rhythmically to the sound._

 **make us whole make us whole make us whole**

 _He hears a juicy thud, and he opens his eyes to see the man's body has collapsed to the floor, totally lifeless in a puddle of his own blood. Isaac begins to consider going back, but before he can act on the notion a overwhelmingly bright blue light suddenly blossoms from down the hallway. The light penetrates his visor, blinds and forces him to raise his hands in defense, and he falls to one knee. He squeezes his eyes shut, unable to escape the light's glaring effulgence, when he suddenly hears a deep, melodious roar. It is a frightening but strange sound, one unlike anything he has ever heard before._

 **through that which has been done reborn we are and act as one**

 _Isaac peeks out through his visor, and sees the silhouette of a man with glowing eyes standing in the center of the aurora. The man raises his arm and appears to be beckoning to him, but inhibited by the intensity of the light all around it the man's visage is blurred and Isaac is unable to make out who it could be. He is certain, however, that it isn't a necromorph, and without any fear he feels inspired to respond._

 _"Who are you?"_

 _Without warning, his head suddenly becomes inundated by the roaring of a thousand voices all speaking over one another, fighting for supremacy over the space within his mind. He cannot make out words clearly in the rumbling ocean of discourse, but he pieces together random phrases here and there, as each voice spills over into the next._

 **quantum teletransportation reborn we are and dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions we act as one control of the mind psychokinesis without traversing the physical space unification you will know tell us what you know isaac tell us what you know where are you where are you going  
**

 _He doesn't understand, but something inspires Isaac to listen as closely as he can. Whether it is a message, a warning, or simply dream state jibberish, he feels compelled to comprehend the vision in front of him. For some reason, he suspects that whoever this is, they will meet again._

 **make us whole make us whole make us whole**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Driven awake by a horrible nightmare Isaac bolted upright, and looked around with frightened eyes at the small, dimly lit, nondescript room he found himself in. He was unable to recall where he was or how he got there, and eerily reminded of his past by the room's plain, sterile appearance he immediately started to panic.

 _Oh no. It was a dream. The whole thing was a dream._

His breath began to hasten, his muscles tensed, and he instinctively feared that at any moment, his Marker-crazed benefactors would burst into the room, hellbent on subjecting him to more torture. He looked down and noticed that he was lying on a small, bedded cot, and his fear quelled in the face of an odd realization.

 _Bedsheets? And a pillow? That wasn't like his gracious hosts._

He pulled the off the sheet that was covering him to find that he was bathed clean, and clothed in a fresh white t-shirt and pair of cotton cargo shorts - a palpable breach of protocol from the standard patient attire and straitjacket. Curiosity began to unfold exponentially from there as he pulled the sleeve of his shirt back and saw that his shoulder had been repaired, fully bandaged, and the pain had reduced substantially. His eyes then shot to his left hand, and he slowly held it up to behold the clean, glove-like wrap that concealed the hole through his palm. Though he couldn't see whether the hole had been sealed, the returned feeling and improved mobility of his fingers were promising indications. He then looked around, and saw that his RIG, plasma cutter and the travel pouches from his suit had been carefully placed on a chair next to the door, along with a towel and pair of grey thong sandals. His pounding heart finally began to slow, he drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out.

 _Ok. So he overreacted._

Released of the fear that he was back in Titan Memorial, his mind jumped to the next, most prominent memory.

"Ellie?"

His voice echoed harshly off the room's bare walls, but he heard nothing else in response. He stood up from the cot and reached for his RIG, looked it over and checked the system status to ensure it was okay. When it booted up without any negative indications, he put it back down on the table and checked the two pouches lying next to it to see if the contents were still inside. He examined the plasma cutter, and seeing that everything appeared to be in order Isaac finally grabbed the sandals, dropped them to the floor and slipped them on. He then turned to the door, cracked it open and peered outside.

"...Ellie?"

The hallway outside his door was empty, and again he heard no response. Figuring he should go find her, he exited the room. He found himself in a long hallway that stretched in both directions, and as he gazed around at all the dust and clutter, trying to decide which way to go, the memory of where he was gradually started coming back to him.

"Anybody here?"

He continued down the hallway toward his right, looking cautiously around until he could hear voices. He stopped and listened to what sounded like conversation between two people, and he recognized one of the voices to be Ellie's. He followed the sound to the end of the hallway, beginning to detect a smell reminiscent of roasted coffee, then looked to his right to find a small kitchen area with an island and set of chairs in the middle of the floor. Ellie was sitting in one of the chairs, wrapped in a bath robe and holding a small mug between her hands, and standing at the nearby counter was the man he recognized as her friend, Alan. Isaac stopped just out of their line of sight, and watched silently from the shadows with wide, open eyes as they chatted with one another.

 _Was it really her?_

It was the very first time Isaac had seen Ellie under normal circumstances, and everything about her - from her hair to her face, from her posture to her color, even the energy of her expressions as she spoke - had so dramatically changed from what he had seen over their short time together that for a brief moment, Isaac wondered if he had mistaken her for a completely different person. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, and appeared to be years younger; freshly bathed, dressed in a tank top and pair of shorts under her unfastened bath robe, and there wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere on her person. Her hair had been thoroughly cleansed, freed from matted pigtails and now hung loosely about her shoulders like a shimmering auburn waterfall. Her face was refreshed and bright, enough so that it further minimized the appearance of her flesh-toned eye patch, and the only marks still left on her face that stood out with any emphasis were a few minor cuts, and the natural freckles that dappled her nose and cheeks. Her skin glistened fair and soft, full of color and her lips were spread into a beautiful smile that appeared to be more relaxed than he had ever seen from her. Stunned, Isaac just watched until Ellie eventually sensed his presence, and she looked in his direction. When she realized he was standing there, her eye went wide with joy.

"Oh, hey you!"

Too eager to await his response, she jumped to her feet and came over to him.

"I can't believe you're awake. How are you feeling? I was getting worried."

Though inside he was just as equally happy to see her, thrown off balance by her radiance up close, he backed away.

"Worried? About what? I'm fine."

A look bordering mock insult crossed her face.

"What's the matter? I'm not going to bite you. So, how are you, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I feel ok. What's the big deal?"

Ellie appeared to be somewhat surprised by his question.

"What's the big deal? You've been out for about 20 hours, now, that's what."

His face slackened in shock.

"What?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

He didn't readily answer her, sparking her to query him a second time.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"... I don't know. I remember getting off the ship, talking with you two... That's about it."

She paused a moment to see if he might continue, but when it produced nothing, she relented.

"It's okay. We can talk about it later. Hey, you want something to eat? You must be starving."

His face twisted with mixed emotion.

"Ehm... maybe. I don't know. Still feel a little... I dunno."

At that point Isaac felt Alan's eyes upon them both, so he looked up to address him.

"Hey, Alan."

Alan responded politely with a smile.

"Nice to see you made it, son."

Upon Ellie's reaffirming tug on his arm, Isaac followed her back to the table where she was sitting. He then turned to Alan, and motioned to his shoulder.

"... Thanks. Thanks for everything. You did a great job."

Alan took a drink from the mug in his hand.

"No worries, there. Does it feel okay?"

"Yeah, feels fine."

"And the hand?"

"Yeah."

Alan glanced briefly at Ellie, then smiled again.

"You certainly had your friend here worried about you."

Upon Alan's remark, Isaac shot a short, apologetic look at Ellie. Finishing up his drink, Alan placed the mug down on the counter and brushed his hands.

"Well, I'm sure you two have plenty to catch up on, so I'll get out of your hair. I gotta get back to that transmission, anyway. I'll be in the shop if you need anything. And Paul, make yourself at home."

Ellie bowed her head.

"Thanks, Alan. We'll check on you later to see if you need any help."

With a friendly expression Alan swept out of the room, and disappeared down the hall. When they were alone, Ellie turned to Isaac.

"You want some coffee? You look like you could probably use some."

Isaac took one of the seats across from her at the table. He wasn't sure how he was feeling, but he wanted to remain cordial.

"... Yeah, sure, I guess. Black is fine."

She got up and stepped toward the counter, where an old, industrial style coffee maker stood in the corner. It rumbled and popped as she prepared a cup, emitting a few blasts of steam around the loose gaskets along its warped steel housing. Isaac just watched her quietly, beginning to feel a little more at ease as she came back to the table and handed him a steaming mug.

"Here you go."

She then returned to her seat across from him, and gently sipped on her own cup for a few moments in silence. Isaac shot a covert side glance at her, taking the opportunity to examine her beauty up close while trying not to give the impression he was leering at her. She didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't let on that she did.

"So... You okay? How's your eye?"

"Oh - it's good. I don't feel a thing. I mean, in a good way. Alan took care of us."

Isaac slowly nodded in agreement, his long gaze returning to the table in front of him.

"What happened while I was out?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Not much. I've just been helping Alan out in the shop."

Isaac's face took on a much more serious countenance.

"No, I mean... what happened? I feel like..."

Ellie cut him off with a gentle pat of his hand.

"No. Everything's okay. Nothing... happened."

Her quickness to answer him, as if having anticipated it, combined with the pregnant pause in her speech, all betrayed her otherwise noble attempt to reassure him.

"Ellie, tell me what happened."

She slowly lowered her eyes.

"It wasn't anything bad. Just, wierd."

Her face twisted with a hint of embarrassment.

"I know this is going to sound like a silly question, but... do you have a habit of sleepwalking?"

He blinked at her.

"Sleepwalking? No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"

"Well, I really think you were sleepwalking."

Fear began to compound in his mind; it was certainly out of character for him, but there was no reason for her to lie about something like that. And ever since the Marker... well, who knows.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know how to explain it. You got disoriented in the medical room, you fell over onto the table and passed out. We had to carry you to the couch after Alan finished up working on you. We thought it was because of all the blood you lost. Then all of a sudden, you just woke up, like nothing had happened."

Ellie's brows sank as she continued to recount her story.

"But, something was different. You were awake, you even talked to us for a little while. But, it was like... like you were on playback mode or something. You were there, but you weren't; I don't think Alan noticed it, but I did. Then, after Alan went to bed and we were alone, you started talking all this stuff I didn't understand... codes, equations, something about... sympathetic attenuation, or attribution, or something... I don't know. And then, you must have been really thirsty, because you went straight to the kitchen, and drank about a gallon of water. That part was pretty funny."

Isaac's face turned to solid stone.

"Wow... I don't remember any of that."

"... You took a shower, and finally, after I showed you to your room, you walked in and just fell down on the bed right in front of me. And you've been there until now."

Isaac stared down at the table, drawing rings nervously around the lip of his coffee mug with his finger, in total silence.

"It was odd, but I figured we did just come out of a pretty traumatic situation, and maybe it was some sort of psychological response. It's not that uncommon, lots of people do it when they're under stress. I was really more concerned about the fact that you literally had not moved an inch in almost an entire day."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was just... tired."

She softened her expression, and a mild smile slipped out.

"Whatever it was, you seem to be okay now. You really do look a lot better."

Isaac glanced up at her, unable to suppress the hint of a coy grin.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing about you."

Tiptoeing on the verge of an adoration she was yet too afraid to express outright, Ellie simply looked away. Isaac enjoyed the moment, but not wanting to make her uncomfortable by being obvious about it, he moved on.

"So, I guess we know what I was up to. What have you been doing with all your free time?"

She cleared her throat.

"Helping Alan, mainly. He's got some ongoing projects that he doesn't usually get to on his own. We had a lot to catch up on."

Isaac nodded his approval.

"He's a pretty decent guy. Thanks for bringing us here. I know I was being unreasonable about it earlier, but honestly, I really don't know what I would have done without you."

She shrugged it off.

"It's the least I could do, Isaac."

"I don't know about that... you've done a whole hell of a lot for me so far."

"As you have for me. Let's just call it even, ok?"

Isaac leaned back in his seat and smiled.

"What happened with the gunship?"

"All taken care of. It's the size of a toaster."

He raised his eyebrows as he attempted to take a sip of his coffee.

"Really?"

"No. I was just exaggerating. But it's definitely not a gunship, anymore."

"Good."

They both fell quiet, each reflecting on all the things they wanted to say to one another. Eventually Ellie spoke up, though not about what she was really thinking.

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I took a little initiative to get you some leads. Alan knows someone who runs one of the apartment complexes in the west quarter, said he could get you a good deal on a place if you're looking to stay. I also talked to him about hooking you up with a little extra work, since I figure you'll probably need to find a job at some point."

He smiled at her, a bit impressed.

"Well, thank you. Aren't you industrious?"

"I knew you were going to have to do it anyway. So if you want, we can head down there and check it out today."

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

He briefly looked down at himself.

"I should probably change before we go."

"Of course. There a locker in your room, you should be able to find something that fits you."

She chuckled under her breath.

"I dunno, though - you wear the flip-flop look rather well."

Feeling more relaxed as she felt the same, Isaac jokingly stuck his tongue out at her.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that was you who put my stuff in there?"

"Yes. Your suit had to be tossed but I checked it, and made sure I got everything off of it. Did I do okay?"

"Yep. Everything's there, thank you."

He took another shallow sip of his coffee, and stood up.

"I suppose I should get ready. I'll be back."

He started to to make his way down the hall, when he turned back with a lost look on his face.

"By the way, where's the bathroom in this joint? Seriously, I gotta take a piss."

* * *

A little while later, Isaac and Ellie headed out of the warehouse together. They briefly checked on Alan, who was busy welding some metal joints in the open workspace in the back, and left the compound through a side exit that led to one of the enclosed walkways connecting the colony sectors. So far from the center, traffic in this area was light, as only the occasional passerby wandered down the otherwise empty walkways. Ellie took the lead and Isaac followed her, trusting in her direction.

"There's a shuttle stop just a couple blocks down, it'll take us to the main hub."

They reached the tram station a few minutes later, and jumped aboard the next arriving shuttle. As they took their seats toward the back, Isaac sank back in the seat and crossed his arms in front of him, eying the few other passengers that were aboard with them. His eyes shot from one person to the next, suspiciously searching for any signs of Unitology, EarthGov, or any other indication that they might be being followed. Ellie noticed the pensive look on his face.

"You alright?"

Isaac looked at her, and nodded. The rest of the shuttle ride was spent in silence between them, and within a few minutes the tram arrived at the next station.

"This is our stop."

Ellie stood from her seat and gripped the rails as the shuttle slowed to a halt, and Isaac joined her when the doors slid open. They made their way through the doors, trailing a few others who exited along with them, and once on the loading dock they both looked around. Isaac started to see signs he barely recognized, from his previous visits to Luna years past.

"I remember this place. I guess I'd just never been on that side of the colony before, but this place looks familiar."

Ellie checked her RIG, then pointed down one of the pathways leading to the center.

"The place we're looking for is this way. It's called Red Moon Apartments."

They made their way down the path and into the New Horizons main hub, and Isaac looked around wondrously at all of the buildings, various shops, and holographic neon advertisements that lined the promenade. The traffic here in the main sector had picked up significantly, and the massive amount of stimuli coming from all around was almost overwhelming; it seemed like there were far more people than he remembered, and so many things appeared to be different. Even the clothing people were wearing and the technology they were using had changed. After his time spent in isolation aboard the Sprawl with no contact with the outer world, Isaac was beginning to realize that the world had left him behind, even after only a few years.

Trailing behind Ellie, he solemnly observed the ocean of bodies all moving in a seemingly synchronous wave of constant action and reaction. As overwhelmed by his surroundings and as paranoid about being discovered he felt, Isaac couldn't deny that it felt nice to be among normal people again - people not scattering around in panic, fighting for their lives, being torn to pieces right in front of him.

As they rounded a corner, he saw a small corner shop with a sign that read "J. STIMUS - OPTOMETRY" posted above the doorway. He tugged on Ellie's sleeve and pointed to it.

"Hey, is that the optometrist Alan mentioned?"

Ellie stopped alongside him, looked at the sign and nodded.

"So, you remember that? Yeah, that's the one. I already checked it out when I was down here earlier."

"And?"

She shrugged.

"Alan was pretty much right - the cheapest model they have is 1,500."

He looked at her, expectantly.

"So, you gonna do it?"

She smirked with disappointment.

"I can't. I don't have that kind of credit on me. After Teidemann fucked me over back there, I lost access to everything - my documentation, my credit account, even my passport. I still have my ID, so at least I can prove my name... and about 300 credits. Not much else."

"What? That's not good."

She shoved her hands into her pockets dismissively.

"It's not a big deal. Once I find some work, it'll take me a week or two at most to save up. I don't mind waiting."

Isaac looked displeased.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

He crossed his arms.

"I don't accept that. You need it. I'll get it for you. You said I owe you one, right?"

Her eye went wide, and she shook her head desperately.

"What? Oh, no. No. I didn't mean that literally. You don't have to do this."

He frowned at her and started to reach for one of the pouches on his belt.

"It's my fault you got hurt in the first place. I should have never left you alone with that guy."

Beginning to feel embarrassed, Ellie pulled her hand to her face.

"Isaac, I can take care of myself..."

He stared her down.

"I won't take no for an answer."

He pulled out of his pouch several credit cards, each one she could see was loaded with various sums of currency. When she added it all up, she was certain that it accounted for a little over 120,000 credits. She gasped, and darted a few nervous glances around her.

"Holy shit. Where'd you get all that?"

"I like to think ahead. I knew we would need it."

She leaned in a little closer, and lowered her voice.

"Did you steal it?"

He weakly shook his head, then paused, then shook his head again with a little more conviction.

"No. No, not all of it. Some of it's mine. I stopped at a Store kiosk on our way out of the Sprawl, and cleaned out all the accounts I had before Tiedemann could fuck me over, too. Even if he didn't, I still can't touch anything in my name now, all that is traceable. I didn't want to lose it."

"But, you did steal some of it, then."

He looked up at her.

"Ellie, it isn't stealing if the people you're taking it from are dead and don't need it any more."

She paused for a moment, mulling over the logic of his thinking.

"Damn, you're a pretty sharp guy. I wish I would have thought of that."

"It won't last forever, but it'll float us at least until I can figure out what I'm going to do with myself."

Locking on to his choice of words, she tilted her head.

"Us?"

"Yeah. Here, take this."

He split the cards in his hand into two equal stacks, and handed her one of them.

"This is for you. Do whatever you want with it. Take it, and start a nice, new life somewhere."

Feeling belittled by the extent of his generosity, Ellie threw up her hands.

"No, that's way too much! I can't accept this."

"You can, and you will. Please."

Ellie just stared into his eyes, feeling eternally grateful and thoroughly ashamed at the same time. Then, swallowing back the lump developing in her throat, she reluctantly took the stack of cards from his hand.

"... Thanks, Isaac. You're a real pal."

Seeing as she finally accepted his offer, he smiled.

"Well, alright. Now, let's go get your eye taken care of."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Isaac remained in the optometrist's office while Ellie underwent surgery to replace her missing eye. He had been informed that the procedure would take approximately two to three hours, but not yet comfortable with being out in the open alone, he had resigned himself to the waiting room for the entire period. Fortunately it was a slow day and the place was quiet, with little activity save for a couple of other patients who came and went, and the nurse sitting behind the reception desk. The only sounds in the air were the muzzled tones of muzak broadcast through the overhead speakers, and the constant, steady hum of an electric panel that powered the lights and furnishings.

With plenty of time to kill Isaac just sat quietly, doing his best not to draw attention to himself, getting lost in long bouts of self contemplation from time to time and occasionally glancing out the office's front window to observe the passersby. He took little interest in the lobby monitors, most of which displayed patient schedule information while a few of them showed various programs of mindless entertainment. He ignored them for the duration of his stay in the waiting room.

That is, until one of the monitors switched to a news broadcast with imagery of a very familiar place.

 _Titan Station._

Isaac's eyes shot wide, and he felt his heart thump in his chest. Although the sound outputs from the monitors were muted in favor of the overhead muzak, the video of a stone-faced news anchor sharing the screen with images of Titan Station straddling his shoulder was accompanied by a subtitle stream Isaac could read. Trying to remain calm, he discreetly leaned forward in his seat and scanned each line of script with his eyes, frantically searching for any mention of his name.

 _[anchor: ... thank you very much, Mike. For those of you just joining us, we want to go live right right now and show you a picture of what's left of Titan Station, off Saturn's moon [break] where I understand [break] we don't have it? Well I'm told we actually don't have that picture right now, but we have been following this breaking story [break] it has been confirmed that Titan Station was destroyed in what officials are saying could be another terrorist attack [break] We have very little information at this point in time to confirm, but I'm now being told that we have on the line EarthGov's executive director of...]_

Isaac's rapt attention on the monitors was torn away by the sound of the hallway door behind him. He turned around to see Ellie as she stepped out, walking alongside the doctor with a huge smile on her face. She kept pawing at a fresh patch over her eye as the doctor thumbed through some papers in his hand.

"You still have a little scarring on your eyelid from the corrective surgery, so I recommend you leave the patch on for a few more days. Then, it should be okay to remove it."

"Oh, it's great. Thank you so much, Doctor."

"Your vision should sharpen up in about a week as your brain acclimates to the sensors. If it doesn't improve by then, or if you have any headaches, come back and see me."

"Right."

Isaac stood up from his seat, trying to mask his panic, and met up with her at the front counter. The doctor walked behind and handed the nurse sitting at the desk the paperwork that was in his hands.

"Audrey here will take care of the rest for you. It's been a pleasure, Ms. Langford."

He reached over the counter and shook her hand, then disappeared back through the hallway doors. As the nurse turned her attention to the paperwork the doctor had handed her, Ellie gently jabbed an elbow into Isaac with excitement.

"Man, I'm jazzed. This thing is great."

"So it works?"

She nodded happily.

"Sure does. It's a little dark right now, but I can actually _see_. The doctor says it'll get better."

The nurse handed a small holo tablet with a digital pen over the counter to Ellie.

"That'll be 2,750 credits, Ms. Langford. I'll need you to sign here."

The total didn't sound right to Isaac, so he shot a puzzled glance at the invoice information displayed on the tablet's screen.

"What's this? I told you to get the higher-end model."

Ellie dismissively sucked the back of her teeth as she took the tablet from the nurse, grabbed the pen, and scribbled her signature along the bottom line.

"It was too much. I can't justify my walking around with a 4,000c eyeball at your expense, that's just crazy. This one works just fine."

He looked a little disappointed, but he couldn't fault her for being conscientious.

"... Ok, whatever."

Ellie started to hand the nurse one of the credit cards Isaac had given her, but he blocked her and instead pushed his forward.

"No, I told you I've got it."

The nurse couldn't help but eye them with a bemused smile as Ellie glanced at her and rolled her eye in jest. The nurse took the card from Isaac's hand and proceeded to scan it, then a moment later handed it back along with a printed receipt.

"That's your copy, and - you're done. If you have any problems Ms. Langford, just give us a call or come in."

Ellie nodded politely, then turned to Isaac.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would."

They started heading toward the exit, and on their way out Isaac glanced nervously at the monitor he had been watching, but it had already switched to another program. At first he thought he should tell her about what he had seen, but once they were outside and he saw how happy she was, he decided to keep it to himself. Ellie stopped in the middle of the street then turned around, raised her arms, and in an outburst of delight nearly leapt into the air.

"Oh, _thank_ you, Isaac! You don't know how much this means to me, thank you so much!"

He just smiled in response, pleased enough to bear witness to the beauty of her emerging inner vibrancy as she let herself go to perform a quick victory dance. Like discovering a fully blossomed rose growing steadfast in the dead of winter, it had been so very long since he had last seen anything like it.

 _You have no idea how very welcome you are._

Ellie stopped when she caught glimpse of the enigmatic expression upon his face, one that was fighting to co-exist somewhere between heartfelt admiration and an unspoken sadness.

"... You okay?"

Coming back to his senses, he blanked his face and looked down.

"Yeah. We should uh, we should get going."

She paused a moment, trying to discern any one of the many emotions she could sense in him, but he had already locked her out.

"Yeah... sure, let's go."

They finally departed for the hub's center square and headed through the crowd toward the west quarter, which was more closely focused on housing. The shops and seller's kiosks had thinned out to be replaced by giant, vertical square complexes, and the public pathways had swapped out for long, thin corridors and elevator shafts that connected hundreds of domiciles within them. As they looked around, they saw an overhead sign that indicated the direction of Red Moon Apartments.

They followed the sign into the center of a cluster of towers reaching stories tall above their heads, and upon their arrival it became obvious that they had crossed over into an economically lower-classed sector of New Horizons. The environment was dingy, poorly lit and far more neglected than the other sectors they had passed through, and graffiti and torn propaganda posters blemished the walls of many of the buildings. The grounds weren't as well kept, and the pedestrians here seemed to travel about with far less inclination to loiter. Isaac looked around with a blank expression, then suddenly laughed out loud.

"Wow, looks like Alan really hooked us up. What a guy. I wasn't expecting the red carpet treatment."

Ellie shook her head as she too looked around, faintly detecting the smell of marijuana in the air.

"Hey, he just promised a lead, he never vouched for quality. Let's just hope the place makes up for it."

Despite the intimidating environment, Isaac couldn't help but feel thankful anyway. He turned to her with a strange smile on his face.

"Bad as it looks, this is still a lot better than where I was. Freedom is a beautiful thing."

She flashed him a strange look.

"You call this freedom?"

"Sure do. Clearly you've never been in a hamster cage."

Not sure how to respond to such an odd statement, Ellie changed the subject when she saw a sign affixed to one of the towers to their right.

"There it is."

They both walked down the trash encumbered walkway that led up to the Red Moon Apartments tower, and entered through the front door into the main lobby. The place reeked strongly of oxidizing copper and stale cigarette smoke. An enclosed and barred front desk, some chairs, tagged walls and a few dying plants in undersized pots were the main eye candy in this room. To their right was a broken holoscreen, still capable of displaying a shattered image that was impossible to watch.

They both approached the counter, which appeared to be unmanned, and Ellie knocked on one of the bars across the window.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

They waited a moment then heard the shuffling of footsteps coming from somewhere behind the counter. A woman appeared and approached the window, wearing a standard uniform and RIG, looking a bit uninterested. She appeared to be middle-aged, somewhat attractive but heavily lined with wrinkles and marked with skin damage that suggested a steady, long-term habit of substance abuse.

"Hi there, what can I do for you?"

Ellie leaned forward.

"Umm, I'm looking for Beth?"

"Yeah that's me, who are you?"

Ellie perked up.

"Oh, My name's Ellie, my friend Alan said you would be expecting me, to see about getting a place, for my friend here."

The woman behind the counter eyed them both warily.

"Sure, he called. How long you lookin' to stay?"

"I don't know. Couple weeks, a month, maybe."

The woman nodded, and reached across the desk for a bowl of walnuts that was sitting nearby. She pulled one out, split it in half with her fingernails, then tossed both halves into her mouth with a look of total apathy.

"1,225."

Isaac smirked, watching her graceless movements with a hint of discontent.

"A month?"

"A week."

He pulled his head back.

"That's your weekly rate? C'mon, I can pay cash up front. I thought we were gonna get the 'buddy' discount."

His suggestion didn't seem to entice her at all.

"Cash or account, doesn't matter. 1,225. That's including the discount... 'buddy'."

Isaac narrowed his eyes upon the woman.

"Really? Pretty steep, even for this part of town, isn't it?"

Somewhat amused by his sarcasm, the woman leaned forward with a wry grin and a look of growing impatience.

"Hey blame the economy, everybody else does. Until it recovers, 1,225. You want it, or not?"

Ellie bent an eyebrow and looked at him, floored that he had the nerve to consider arguing with the woman.

"Isaac, what are you doing? Just say yes."

He tsked.

"Can we at least see it, first?"

The woman behind the counter rolled her eyes, and grabbed a set of card keys from a drawer in the desk.

"Sure thing, Your Majesty. Follow me."

She momentarily disappeared from behind the desk, and came out a few seconds later through a secured door a few feet away. With a sulking face she waved her hand at them to follow her, and they trailed her down the hall.

"You have a floor preference?"

Looking around at the malfunctioning hallway lighting and deteriorating walls, Isaac snickered to himself.

 _Yeah. Preferably a place that has one, thank you._

His verbal response was far more tame.

"... No. Just... one with an open view, if you got one."

The woman didn't answer him, but kept walking until they reached an elevator. She pressed the call button, and as it started its slow descent from somewhere above, she looked down at the key cards in her hand, then pulled one out and handed it to Ellie.

"Fourth floor, third on the right. 416. You can go up there to check it out."

Ellie took the key from her hand just as the elevator door slid open, and she looked at Isaac.

"Shall we?"

They both entered the elevator and ascended to the fourth floor, where the car came to a screeching halt and the door slid open with rustic temperament. They entered a long grey hallway, lined with doors that all appeared to be identical with only a few open, unkempt trash bins swarming with flies along the way to break the monotony. Glancing at the number on each door, they slowly followed the way down until they located the correct apartment. Ellie stepped up to the door.

"Here it is, 416."

There were two people loitering at the end of the hallway, dressed in dark civilian clothing and wrapped in thermal cloaks, hunched over and conversing with one another. When they realized Isaac and Ellie were there their conversation died down, and they both locked hard stares upon them. Isaac returned the stare cautiously as Ellie used the key to trigger the hololock. The door slid open, and just before Isaac followed her inside, he noticed that while one of the two people had lost interest, the second one was still holding onto Isaac with the glare of a hawk. He stepped inside as Ellie called for him, and closed the door.

"You know, for a shithole, this actually isn't half bad."

Ellie nodded somewhat approvingly as they both looked around at what was a pretty spacious studio apartment, far superior in size to the tiny civilian flats aboard Titan Station or ships like the Ishimura. Red Moon was clearly an older establishment, built before the need for compact construction due to crowding had reached its peak of urgency, when comfort had been more of a priority in human housing considerations. Fully furnished, the apartment had a sizable open living space, a full kitchenette, a king sized bed, a full length synthetic leather couch, and its own private bathroom.

Isaac made a round trip through each of the different areas, then slowly approached the large window that lined the room's south wall. It's open, panoramic display overlooked a distant cityline of New Horizons, a harsh, cutout collage of geometric buildings and floating structures, all hovering above the ghostly white surface of Luna as it spanned beneath it in all directions.

"Yeah. I think I like it."

"So, you're gonna take it?"

He then made his way toward the bed and sat down on the edge of it, bouncing lightly upon it a few times.

"Sure, why not? It's got a normal bed. I can't ask for much more than that."

Ellie nodded with a small grin, straining to keep her hands at her sides. She was brimming with all kinds of questions to ask him, all of which she was too afraid to. She struggled to improvise.

"Well, that's... great! So, I guess... you're just, gonna stay here, then?"

"That was the plan, wasn't it?"

She flashed an awkward smirk, trying to be positive but somehow blatantly broadcasting a tone of hurt.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was. And... mission accomplished."

She continued to stand there, looking at him like a child eagerly awaiting an answer from her parent.

"So... what's um, what's next for you?"

Isaac stood to his feet and looked around, appearing to be genuinely disconcerted by her question.

"I really don't know... I honestly haven't thought this far ahead."

She smiled nervously.

"Neither have I."

They both just looked into each others' eyes for a long moment, neither one sure of what to say next. Isaac suspected he knew what Ellie was thinking, and this sparked a conflict of interest in his mind between what he knew they both wanted, and what he felt was best for her. The time was coming very quickly when he would have to lay all of his cards out on the table, to bring her to a solid understanding of who he was, and why it was imperative that she move on to someplace else without him. And he absolutely dreaded it. Still, knowing he could not delay the inevitable, he tried to smile.

"Hey... after we get this thing squared away, wanna go get something to eat? That is, if you don't have anywhere else you need to be."

Seeking to conceal the secretive delight she felt upon his invitation, Ellie crossed her arms.

"Are you telling me you're actually hungry? I was beginning to think you were a robot."

He coyly smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'm really beginning to feel it now. Besides, I was hoping, you know... we could, talk. Finally."

She shook her head.

"I didn't have any plans."

Isaac tucked his hands behind his back, and looked at her expectantly.

"So, is that a yes?"

She tilted her head, then shrugged her shoulders. It was all she could do to prevent herself from doing something girlishly stupid.

"Sure. Sure, I'd like that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Back in the complex lobby, Isaac wrapped things up with the superintendent while Ellie headed back outside. Just out front of the building, she paused to examine the barren patches of hydroponic growing medium that had been arranged in between the walkways, which apparently had once been home to a small rose garden. Rendered into fossils by long-standing neglect, the remnants of broken rosebush stalks reached upward from the medium in sparse, gnarled clusters. While there was nothing remarkable about it on the surface, the bleak arrangement of dead shrubbery triggered a memory she had of the necromorphs as they screamed and grabbed for her, their twisted, tortured bodies forced into the same poses.

 _Death. It seemed to be catching on._

Isaac trailed out the door moments behind her, and hearing his approach she turned to him.

"So, where you want to go?"

He tucked his hands into his pockets, and started to walk alongside her.

"Someplace quiet."

They passed the towers and on through the square, eying various restaurants and walk-up windows along the way. It was early evening and the establishments were all crowded with people, which Isaac wasn't particularly pleased with. They kept scanning each place they passed, until Ellie saw a small, Vietnamese restaurant, off the main path and out of the way of traffic. It appeared to be devoid of much activity, so she pointed it out.

"How about there? You like Vietnamese?"

"Sure. Let's check it out."

They headed up and into the establishment, which was an old, cramped kitchen and dining area, overly decorated with various cultural knick-knacks and strung lights. The ambiance was generally dim, and there weren't many patrons present. As they looked around, Isaac observed a small booth toward the back which was overshadowed by poor overhead lighting, and away from where anyone else was sitting.

"Let's take that one, back there."

They crossed the room and approached the booth, sliding into the seats opposite each other. The table had a holographic counter top which displayed the various menu items available, and the two of them took a moment to review it as they settled in. He didn't say anything, but Isaac was overwhelmed by the menagerie of sample images and floating blocks of text, and his eyes just shot around the table in a desperate attempt to reconcile what was an imperceptible blob of blinding holographic imagery. He reached up and rubbed his eyes as his vision blurred, and Ellie glanced up at him with concern.

"You sure you're alright?"

He looked up at her.

"Yeah. Why do you keep asking me that?"

She recoiled a little.

"Sorry. You've just been acting a little strange. I hope you're feeling okay, that's all."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just, uh, trying to adjust. This is all a lot to take in. I wasn't expecting it."

Each statement he made drove Ellie further to learn about him. With no knowledge of the torturous, isolating existence he had faced aboard the Sprawl, it baffled to wonder what could have happened to make returning to a normal life such a trying experience - especially when she herself was having no such difficulty readjusting in spite of her own set of trials. She just looked at him, until a young man with oily black hair and a mousy, pale complexion approached the table.

"Hi there, can I get you folks something to start you off?"

Isaac shot his head up at the waiter's approach, as if having been caught by surprise.

"Oh - I uh, I -"

He looked at Ellie, who then looked up to the waiter.

"I'll just have a draft beer, and some water."

"We've got SUN on tap right now, that okay?"

Ellie nodded, and the waiter turned to Isaac. Still feeling indecisive, Isaac just went with it.

"Yeah, I'll have one of those, too."

The waiter beamed a fragile, porcelain smile.

"You got it. I'll be right back with those, and give you a few minutes to decide on what you want."

The waiter bowed slightly and whisked off through the room, and in the wake of his absence Ellie and Isaac just smiled at each other. The faint incandescent bulb suspended above the table filled the area with a curtain of warm glow, perfectly framing Ellie right in its center like a spotlight designed just for her. To Isaac, it only seemed to further illuminate her beauty, and the longer he looked at her, the more difficult he found it to turn away. He knew it was only going to get harder from here.

"Man, I can tell the doctor did a good job. I bet your eye feels good now, huh?"

She shook her head up and down with a juvenile enthusiasm.

"Yeah. It already feels like, a million times better. I really thought it was okay before, but compared to the way it feels now... wow. What a difference. Thank you again, Isaac. I can't imagine what I would have done without you."

"My pleasure. I'm really happy you decided to do it. Once the patch comes off, it's gonna be beautiful."

His expression filled with a genuine happiness that set Ellie to blushing. She didn't know what to say, inwardly wrestling between her wanting to just open up completely to him, and the need to comply with what she sensed was his desire to keep a distance. She was secretly thankful when the waiter came back to the table, giving her reprieve from having to come up with a response. The waiter placed two glasses filled with amber colored pilsner beer, two additional empty glasses, and a pitcher of ice water on the table.

"So, you folks decide what you want? Or you need a few more minutes?"

With his elbow on the table Isaac leaned into his hand, still battling it out with indecision.

"You got any specials?"

The waiter's expression lit up and he nodded, pointing to some menu items that were outlined in the bottom corner of the holoscreen.

"Today we've got _Bò Nhúng Dắm_ \- that's beef dipped in vinegar. We've also got _Chạo Tôm_ , grilled sugarcane shrimp with steamed -"

Feeling too impatient to listen to the entire rollout, Isaac cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"You know what? It doesn't really matter, just bring me something you have that's vegetarian."

Ellie looked up from the table menu and raised a teasing eyebrow at him.

"You've got to be joking. I would have never pegged you for a vegetarian."

Isaac glanced up at her and shook his head, appearing a little solemn and distant.

"I'm not, usually. I just, don't really want to look at dead meat right now. I've seen enough to last me for the rest of my life."

She considered his statement, then bit her lip. Certainly, she agreed that they had both seen more than their fair share.

"Hmm... you make a good point."

She looked up at the waiter.

"You know, I'll have what he's having."

The waiter nodded with servile platitude and then scuttled away without a word, leaving them alone. They both sat there for a moment, once again finding themselves at odds with words, and Ellie started fidgeting with her glass to ease the tension. Isaac watched her quietly, observing her trepid posture, then raised his own glass.

"Well, here's to you, Ellie. You are one tough bird, I'll tell you that. Smart as they come."

Tickled by his flattery, she joined him in toast.

"And here's to you. For surviving all that shit with me. And for being a super badass."

Sharing a laugh, they clinked their glasses and took a drink. When they put their glasses back down, Isaac examined her again, this time with a sense of purpose.

"So. Ellie Langford. Let's talk about you."

"Huh? What about me?"

A musing grin formed upon his face.

"'Ellie'. That's short for Elizabeth, right?"

She looked up from the glass between her hands.

"Umm, no, actually."

"It isn't? What's it short for?"

She shrugged as she took another sip.

"It isn't short for anything. My name is 'Elleigh' - E-L-L-E-I-G-H. It's pronounced _ell-AY_ , actually. But, other people always assume it's 'Ellie'. I just roll with it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's like, Old French or something."

Isaac nodded, looking rather thoughtful.

"Hmm. Interesting. Well then, what's next?"

She bent an eyebrow.

"As in...?"

"As in, what are your plans? Where do you go from here?"

She wasn't looking forward to breaching this subject, but knew it would inevitably come to pass.

"I told you I haven't really thought about it."

He looked at her a little more seriously.

"Don't you think you should?"

"I don't know, I was probably going to stay at Alan's for a few days. Or until I figure out what I'm going to do."

"You aren't going back to Earth?"

"I wasn't planning on it, no."

Isaac took another drink from his glass and leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table.

"Why not? Don't you have anything to go back to?"

Ellie just continued to stare down into her hands.

"Nope."

"Where do you call home, then?"

"No place, for a while now. I left Earth when I was 26, I started my first gig with the CEC as a contractor. Then I moved into full-time, and worked on dispatch ever since. I guess you could say since I was last working there that the Sprawl was my home, but now it's gone."

Isaac rubbed his chin.

"So, no family, or anything like that?"

She widened her eye with a look of incredulity, laughed, then took a drink.

"Are you kidding me? I don't have time for a family of my own. No siblings... my dad died a few years back, and my mom still lives back home in the European Republic. But I haven't talked to her in years."

Isaac lowered his eyes to the glass between his hands, intrigued by some of the similarities their histories shared.

"No... significant other?"

She shook her head.

"No. Never stuck around anyplace long enough to establish something meaningful with anybody."

While he didn't make it obvious, Isaac was somewhat disappointed to hear all of this. Part of him had been hoping she would have had some attachment to lure her away, something that would help make his task a little less difficult.

"So, if you're not going back to Earth, what are you gonna do?"

She smiled, reassuringly.

"Don't worry about me. I'll find my way. I always have."

Like him, Ellie kept her responses placid and indifferent, but inside her heart was burning. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, what she wanted to say, but not wanting to be the first to throw out the glaring suggestion, she tried to pick his brain and get him to say it.

"I can't help but feel like you're grilling me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you actually have something to say."

Isaac slowly closed his eyes, trying to remain prudent.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do. But..."

Ellie sat forward, her mind beginning to race.

 _Ask me to stay here with you, Isaac. Just say the words.  
_

After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"... I think you should leave. Leave as soon as you can, and get as far away from here as possible. These people have no reason to be interested in you. You're not their target. If you get away now, you'll be safe. And you can go live your life. You deserve a nice life after all this, Ellie."

She froze like glass, her heart sank, and she suddenly lost her appetite.

"... Oh. You, really think so?"

Isaac gave no indication he had noticed the paling expression upon her face.

"Look, as long as you're with me, you're not safe. I don't want to see you get hurt. You've been too kind to me. You have to go."

Ellie's chest felt tight, and her breath hastened quietly. Overwhelmed and confused as she was, she decided not to say anything that might further her vulnerability.

"... Maybe you're right. I don't really have a reason to stay here anyway, so... you're probably right."

Isaac just looked down. Before he could think of something to reply with the waiter returned, holding two large, steaming bowls in his hands. He placed one in front of each of them, then stepped back.

"Our vegetarian dish today is fresh _Bun Cha Gio Chay_. Please, enjoy. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

They both shook their heads, and as the waiter slipped away, looked down at their plates. By this point neither one felt very hungry any more but they made a valiant effort to try anyway, picking gingerly at their plates, pulling out small morsels here and there. Almost on the verge of tears Ellie hung her head, she closed her eyes and took a moment to compose herself. When she looked up, she saw that Isaac had started eating his food with a little more enthusiasm, now utilizing his fork to forage around his plate. It relieved her to at least see he was starting to come around, which encouraged her own appetite to return and she eventually joined him. They both ate in silence for a few minutes before Ellie finally broke the intermission again, seeking to open up a new subject that she hoped would be a little less heartrending.

"So, we've talked about me... Now, it's your turn. What's your story, Isaac? How did a man like you end up here?"

"My story? I don't even know where to start."

"How about the beginning?"

"The beginning?... ok."

He put the fork down upon the plate and brought his hands up before him, taking a moment to find a way to break it to her as lightly as possible.

"Umm... Once upon a time, there was a very stupid man named Isaac Clarke. Despite being an accomplished and self-proclaimed genius, Isaac had no common sense whatsoever and wasn't very good at knowing what was in his best interest - so he made a lot of very bad mistakes. One of these mistakes was when he unwittingly volunteered for a career-destroying job assignment that proceeded to ruin his entire life. The end."

Ellie tried not to smile as he concluded by dropping his hands upon the table. While he was rather amusing in his way of telling it, to her it felt inappropriate to laugh at what sounded like the prelude to an epic of misfortune.

"You're talking about the Ishimura, I assume?"

Isaac took another drink of his beer, noting he was near the bottom and ready for another. By this point he was beginning to feel it - the ties on his fears, his inhibitions, and his lips just barely beginning to loosen, the screaming voices inside his head finally drowned out by the overcast of intoxication. As memories of the Ishimura came to him he sought to describe them for Ellie, which was an act of pure, heartfelt confession that just an hour ago would have been impossible to do.

"... Yes. I went to deal with the communications blackout."

When he said this, Ellie pulled her head back with astonishment.

"Oh my god. You were part of the Kellion crew?"

Surprised by her knowledge, he cocked his head.

"You know about that?"

She blinked her eyes and shook her head with total disbelief.

"Where have you been, under a rock? It was the biggest thing around every CEC branch! Everybody was talking about what happened... I mean, everyone but the CEC, that is."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged.

"Well, the CEC only addressed the 'official' information that EarthGov released. The attack on the Ishimura and some mining colony, about 2,400 people lost. Other than that, the CEC pretty much went dark. They didn't even mention what happened to the Kellion until months afterward, after news spread about some wrongful death suit over one of the missing crew members. They never even told us their names, but obviously people drew conclusions when some employees went missing."

Isaac sat forward, astonished by what he was hearing.

"Wait a minute, back up... attack? What attack?"

Ellie tilted her head curiously.

"The terrorists. They said it was a terrorist attack."

Isaac suddenly remembered back on the Sprawl when Ellie had first told him of the CEC's misleading information, and it started to drive up very angry feelings. He finished off the last of the beer in his glass with annoyance.

"... Terrorist attack?"

Ellie eyed his body language.

"You seem upset by that."

He leaned back with a dark, vengeful smirk on his face.

"They lied about it. They fucking lied about it. They just covered up that whole fucking disaster?... Nice. Real nice."

The longer he ruminated on it, the angrier Isaac became. He shifted in his seat, refusing to make eye contact with her. Starting to feel sorry for bringing it up, Ellie tried to diffuse him with a compassionate smile.

"It's ok."

"Ellie, you don't get it... it was the same..."

His words fell short, barely able to process in his mind all of the inherent repercussions of what he was coming to realize.

"So... what does that mean, Ellie? Is there anyone out there who knows what happened to me? Or did I just cease to exist? Just another statistic? I mean - what's left of my life? What the fuck just happened to the past forty years of my life?"

His eyes darkened, and vitriol of his feelings rose until he finally released it with an angry pounding of his fist on the table. Ellie went a little wide-eyed at his reaction.

"Jeez, calm down."

Isaac pulled his hand back, and looked around to see if anyone had taken notice. Not a soul was looking their way, and lowering his voice he ran a nervous hand across his head.

"Sorry. But my whole life has just become meaningless."

"Your life is not meaningless, Isaac. It's just changed, that's all. If it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same boat."

He looked up at her with an expression that borderlined condescending.

"I highly doubt that."

They shared a long, awkward moment as Ellie shrank back, starting to feel it was pointless to try to get him to see the lighter side of his situation for now. As if by providence, the waiter again passed by their table, affording her the opportunity to take cover. Seeing both of their glasses were empty, she called him over.

"Hey, can we get another round over here, please?"

The waiter acknowledged her with a hand gesture then swept on past, quickly moving on to a few other tables before proceeding back to the bar. Ellie's gaze dropped to the table, and the more it sunk in about what Isaac had just said, the more she began to regret having cracked the joke about him being under a rock.

"... You were really gone for all those years... weren't you?"

He didn't answer her, just stared down at his empty glass until she was prompted to ask a different question.

"So, what did really happen?"

She at first expected he might not want to keep talking about it, but after a moment of holding a tight-lipped scowl, he surprised her with a response.

"The same exact thing we just went through, Ellie. The same exact thing. And that mining colony was an illegal operation on a restricted planet. They should have never been there in the first place."

Ellie blinked.

"So, what happened there?"

"The Marker happened, that's what. That's why all of this started. All of it. When they cracked that planet, they found the Marker, which was already there. And then they were stupid enough to bring it up on the goddamn ship. You believe these ignorant fucks?"

Ellie couldn't help but to start taking a keen interest in the discussion.

"So, you know for certain that this whole necromorph thing is in fact connected to the Marker?"

"Yes. The Marker is where the signal comes from - the signal that triggers the dementia, and the transformation."

She narrowed her stare.

"How do you know all of this?"

He shook his head, a little dejectedly.

"I don't really know much about it. Just, experience, I guess. And what other people have told me, here and there."

"So, what happened when you got to the Ishimura?"

"Our ship crashed when we first arrived, because there was no power to the landing grid. So, we were stranded. We had to get the systems back up and running on the Ishimura so we could at least radio back home. But, the whole ship was fucked - someone tried to sabotage it. We spent the better part of two days just trying to get the fucking ship running again. And we had to deal with those goddamn creatures the entire time."

Ellie was simply floored.

"Two days? Shit. We weren't on the Sprawl for even a whole day. I can't imagine two... I can't believe you survived."

"I can't believe it, either."

Her expanded stare of intrigue was disrupted by the waiter's hand as he slipped in and deposited two more glasses of beer on the table in front of them, then scurried off again. She grabbed her glass, unable to take her eyes off of Isaac.

"So, did you ever touch base?"

With a twisted smirk he leaned on his hand and shook his head, taking a few more bites from his plate.

"No. But I found a way off and down to the colony... and that's where shit really got deep."

She looked at him oddly.

"But, why would you go down there, knowing that's where the outbreak started? Why didn't you just get the hell out of there?"

He thought about it for a moment. While he was wanting to be truthful in delineating the facts, he wasn't yet ready to divulge the whole truth about what actually had compelled him to go to the Colony and complete the Marker's bond. Those memories of Nicole were his to know, and his alone.

"I had to do something. I couldn't just leave the Marker there on the ship... So, I uhh, I tried returning it to where it belonged. I thought, maybe it would fix it."

"Did it?"

"No. Destroyed the planet, actually."

"What?"

Seeing the surprise on her face, Isaac sneered.

"Hmm. I guess the CEC and EarthGov covered that part up too."

Ellie shook her head, a little apologetically.

"All I can tell you is that I've never heard anything like that. They did say that the Ishimura was found somewhere in Cygnus space, but that it could have been moved to that location after... whatever happened happened. But if what you're telling me is that they were actually involved in illegal mining... and all that Marker shit... then, that's really serious. No wonder they lied about it."

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but chuckle under her breath.

"And no wonder you're worried EarthGov is after you. You pretty much just blew their whole operation wide open. And what happened to the Sprawl? They must be absolutely crazy about you, Isaac."

He smirked angrily.

"I can only hope."

She laughed.

"Wow, a planet. That's hardcore. I wouldn't want to piss you off."

He held up his hands accusingly.

"Hey it wasn't intentional, I swear. I had some issues while I was down there... power to the Ishimura's gravity tethers got cut off, and... well, shit went down after the cork came loose."

She was trying to keep up with him, but every detail of his outlandish tale was causing her head to spin.

"Sounds like quite an adventure... makes what I went through seem like vanilla."

"They both had their moments. Besides, the second time around turned out to have a much better ending."

He smiled, an act that finally broke what felt like a decade of tension between them. Encouraged, Ellie cloned the friendly gesture.

"Yeah, I think I'll have to take your word on that. So, what made you volunteer for the mission in the first place? You just a good Samaritan, or what?"

Approaching the very apex of his mistake, Isaac rolled his eyes and took another drink of his beer, trying to drown out the impact of the memory.

"I was in love. I was trying to be a hero, I guess."

By now Ellie was also well into feeling the onset of inebriation, and getting bold enough to engage him more openly about his past. She raised her eyebrows and leaned forward with a large, teasing grin.

"Ohhh, the plot thickens. You did it for a girl."

"You could say that. She was stationed on the Ishimura when the outbreak happened."

Her charming smile flatlined.

"Oh... wow."

"I just wanted to make sure that she was okay. I didn't find out until I got there that she had killed herself."

"What?"

"She had already committed suicide before I got there. I guess she couldn't handle it."

Ellie's eyes drifted back down to the glass in her hand.

"... I'm guessing that's who Nicole is. You've mentioned her before."

The sound of her name struck a painful chord in Isaac's heart, and his gaze fell right through the table.

"I wish I could take it all back. It was my fault... I encouraged her to take the job. She was there because of me."

Sympathetic as she was to Nicole's plight, Ellie didn't like to see Isaac burdening himself with such guilt over his lover's demise, especially since she saw it as more as a personal choice Nicole had made not to fight, not to see it through to the end like Isaac had. Or like Ellie herself had, for that matter. She hardened her stare at him across the table.

"It's not your fault, Isaac. None of this is your fault. You did everything you could, you even went at your own peril to rescue her... I don't know another soul anywhere in the universe whom I can say that about. Even if it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, you did everything right, that's all that matters. Nicole made her own choices. Don't you dare go blaming yourself for what happened."

Isaac glanced back up at her, somewhat surprised but enlightened by her words.

"Yeah. I suppose. There is a small part of me that feels, maybe it all turned out for the best, when I think about it."

"How do you mean?"

He paused for a moment.

"If Nicole had survived with me, then they would have put her through what they did to me, and to Stross, and the others... no question. And even if she would have somehow made it the whole three years there without going out of her mind, there's no way in hell she would have survived what came after that. She would have been dead in five minutes. She proved it to me."

He paused, making an earnest attempt to maintain his composure.

"She was a great girl. But... she wasn't like you. She just didn't have that fight in her. So, in a way, what happened there... she was spared. The reality is that she's been dead for three years, but because I lost all that time, it feels like yesterday to me. I haven't even had the chance to grieve for five minutes. I don't know if I could, anymore. It's like I, I jumped right over the denial, anger, bargaining and depression... and shot straight to numb. And, that's that."

Ellie just stared back at him, finding meaningful words difficult.

"... I'm sorry, Isaac."

He just shook his head with a dismissive smile, desperate to show he could take it all in stride. Disturbing as Nicole's story was for the both of them, Ellie was eager to depart the subject.

"So... I have to ask you, what exactly... were you and Nolan doing on the Sprawl?"

Staring down into his glass, Isaac spoke openly.

"We were test subjects. We, and about six other people, I think. I don't remember, they all died anyway. We were survivors they had found after the whole... thing. Most of them came from the Aegis7 colony. I think Nolan was one of them."

"Test subjects? Testing what?"

"The purpose of the Marker signal. The thing we all shared in common was that we all had been imprinted with the Marker's signal. Each of us was broadcasting it - which the scientists were convinced were some kind of Codes."

She looked puzzled.

"Codes?"

"That's what they called it - like, instruction sets. For building new Markers. Apparently, that's how they built the Marker that was on the Sprawl."

"So, they found a way to build these things?"

"Yes. Through these Codes."

Her expression still appeared to bear some naivety, so Isaac reached for a napkin and looked around the table.

"Give me a pen. You have a pen?"

Ellie looked at him queerly, then reached into the left thigh pocket of her tan colored cargo pants. Pulling out a small pen, she handed it to him.

"Here you go."

Isaac took the pen from her hand, then began feverishly scribbling something down on the napkin. Ellie tried to reconcile it in her mind while looking at the drawing upside down, which it appeared to be a long string of numbers and letters, intertwined with characters she didn't understand. She watched the intent stare on his face as he scribbled a line that reached all the way from one end of the napkin to the other. Then he stopped, rotated the napkin so it appeared right-side up in her eyes, and slid it toward her.

"Do you have any idea what this is?"

Ellie glanced at it, unable to recognize most of it save for a few familiar notations.

"I'm no expert, but I'd say it looks like... a mathematical equation?"

Isaac nodded.

"Yes. But do you know what it means?"

"No, can't say that I do. This is beyond me."

"Well, neither do I. But I can't stop thinking about it."

He folded the napkin up and tossed it into one of the empty glasses sitting on the table.

"That's what the scientists were after. It's why they kept us there. They had this... Machine, that could extract the Codes through the optical nerve."

Ellie glanced at his right eye, the center of which was still conspicuous by its much darker color when compared to his left.

"Is that what happened to your eye?"

He glossed right over her question as he emptied his glass, and jumped to another subject.

"Hey, since you're probably not going to be around for too long, I think we should celebrate. Don't you?"

Ellie blinked her eye, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his demeanor. She was thoroughly intrigued by Isaac's situation and she wanted to learn more about it, so she felt slightly dismayed to understand he didn't feel the inclination to indulge her further. Still, she had to give him credit for opening up as far as he had.

"Celebrate? I thought that's what we were doing."

"No, we were just having dinner, and talking about unpleasant things. I was thinking we could stop at the store, grab a few more beers... and just hang out for a little while. Get to know each other like ordinary folks. None of this Marker talk, or who we had to be while fighting to survive. Just regular conversation between two average people. What do you say?"

She bent an eyebrow at him.

"You mean, back at your place?"

"Well, yeah. I figure it's a long way back to Alan's, and it is getting late, so..."

"But don't you have to get the rest of your stuff?"

He shrugged.

"What stuff? I have everything... just left my plasma cutter there, but he can have it."

Though she fought to suppress it, a tiny smile began to creep across her lips.

"Isaac, are you asking me to spend the night?"

He gave her a funny look.

"Ellie, look. I have no expectations. If you prefer to go back to Alan's, just say the word and I'll be more than happy to walk you back. All I'm saying is that I'd like to get to know you better before you just... disappear out of my life."

Considering his offer, Ellie nodded.

"Alright. What harm can come of it, right?"

With that she finished her own beer in one last chug, and took a few more bites of her food. Then reaching into her pocket, pulled out one of her credit cards and placed it on the table to pay the bill.

"Now, I got this one, Isaac. Seriously."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

It was late in the evening by the time Isaac and Ellie left the restaurant, and most of the other shops and operations had closed their doors. This turned the city's focus over to the various adult nightclubs, strip joints and street hustlers that while inconspicuous during the day, ruled the night at New Horizons. The shopping centers were dark but the streets were still brightly illuminated by a citywide concatenation of a million neon lights, all glowing brilliantly and competing for the attention of the eyes. The air was filled with strange dance music, and the babble of voices in countless languages coming from all over.

In spite of the inner city's seediness, Isaac still enjoyed the walk back to the apartment. It had been a number of years since he had last been to New Horizons, and it surprised him to see how much the colony had grown over that time. Witnessing the boom in dark activity and lapsed government oversight that the rapid population growth apparently had brought along with it, he figured that Ellie had been right - a place where everyone probably had a reason to live by the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy might have actually been the right move for him. Beginning to have more faith in her judgement, he felt he could let go of his paranoia for the time being.

Ellie wasn't as much inclined to like the place herself, but it didn't matter; simply being in Isaac's company more than made up for it in her mind. She watched him silently while he gawked around as if lost in reverie, observing the bustling city nightlife with the wondrous stare of an alien having never been to such a place, and she jokingly mused to herself whether she had mistakenly left the real Isaac behind and brought with her one of the necromorphs instead.

"Geez. I don't remember this place being so... bright."

"Maybe it's just because you just haven't seen it in a while. Everything looks brighter with a fresh pair of eyes."

They laughed and joked with one another along the way, ignoring the eyes of the street urchins upon them as they passed, until they came across an all-night package store on a corner. Sticking close to one another they stepped inside, and while Isaac trailed behind in an aimless, alcohol-induced stupor, Ellie resourcefully grabbed some snacks, various toiletries, and a 12-pack of beer. Desiring not to loiter for too long they concluded their business quickly, and were on their way.

When they arrived at Red Moon, they entered the lobby and swept past a small crowd of unsavory characters, hanging out in the seating area and smoking. Some were lying on each others' laps or on the floor, sleeping or riding high on drugs. On their way to the elevator, Ellie grabbed Isaac's arm and closed the gap between them as she eyed the colorful collection of criminal types, some of whom met her with hard, leering stares. They passed through the cloud of smoke and entered the elevator, and when they arrived on the fourth floor, she finally felt relieved to be out of the lobby. However, she apparently was alone in her sense of caution, for she had noticed that Isaac didn't seem to mind the environment as much as she did. Or perhaps he just wasn't paying attention to it. Either way, he seemed to be in a better mood.

They walked down the hallway, passing by a couple loiterers lined up against the wall. Tucked within thick, fur-lined parkas they had been taking up nearly the entire walkway, but as Isaac and Ellie neared they pulled their scattered belongings out of the way, darting skittish glances at them. Isaac eyed them curiously as they walked by, until Ellie turned to him.

"You got the Code?"

Isaac looked at her for a moment. Sensing he was confused, she clarified.

"The keycode. For the door."

In a delayed reaction, he raised his finger.

"Oh - yes."

He activated the hololock, they both slipped inside the apartment and closed the door behind them to enjoy the peace and sanctity of isolation from the world outside. Ellie placed the bag she was carrying from the store down onto the counter in the kitchen, and Isaac slowly sauntered up to the large, panoramic window along the back wall. From their current position, three heavenly bodies were visible at this time - the surface of Luna, the Earth, and the sun, each cascading one behind the other with the trajectory of a perfect astral calculation. Ellie noticed as his attention became rapt upon the sight, and she took the moment to remove her jacket and shoes. She then reached into the bag she had and pulled out a small hairbrush, released the clip that been holding her hair into a messy low side bun, and began to brush it out. She faced the counter while she worked, becoming momentarily lost in her own thoughts.

When she finished and turned back around, she saw that Isaac was still facing the window but looking at her slightly from the side, as if trying not to make it obvious he was doing so. She cocked a small smirk.

"What's up?"

He quickly turned his gaze back to the window and shook his head. Then after a moment's hesitation, he waved toward it.

"... Nothing, I was just, admiring the view."

He almost couldn't keep a straight face as he said it, a nearly imperceptible crack in his front that Ellie cued right into.

"Oh. Well, glad to see that it's... to your satisfaction."

He looked at her again, no longer able to hold back the urge to smile.

"Yeah. It's quite beautiful, actually. The most beautiful I've seen in a long time."

She smiled back as they shared in a most fascinatingly awkward moment, until Isaac quietly cleared his throat and looked away. Ellie reached into the bag again and pulled out the beer, extracted two from the pack and walked over to him, offering him one.

"Here you go."

He took the bottle from her hand and sat down on the couch, taking a moment to observe its label in a haphazard attempt to distract himself. She came around the other side and took a seat on the couch along with him, being conscious enough to keep a few feet between them, and proceeded to open her bottle by wrapping the bottom edge of her shirt around the cap to utilize as a grip, then twisting it off. Taking a discreetly defensive posture she sat forward with her elbows on her knees, holding the bottle pensively between her hands, and she stared at the cloud of carbonated fizzle that plumed out of it.

"So. Now that you're settled, what are you going to do, Isaac?"

He glanced up at her through narrowed eyes, a look of feigned puzzlement upon his face.

"... About what?"

She turned and looked at him.

"About you, dummy. What's in your future?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not clairvoyant."

She turned her eye upward, and mocked a look of mild frustration.

"You know what I mean."

Though he was simply teasing her, he certainly knew what she meant. He thought about it, then tossed his hand with little emphasis before opening his bottle and taking a drink, realizing that he was actually just as reluctant to approach this subject as she had been.

"I don't know. I suppose, I could pretty much do whatever I want, really... It doesn't matter. I'm starting over from the ground up. And that's... just fine with me."

Ellie took a drink from her bottle, watching his dawdling, uncoordinated movements with amusement.

"Well, are you really going to just stay here? Is there anyplace else you want to go?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know... I don't think so. Earth is off limits, so that narrows it down, doesn't it?"

Feeling a little anxious, she turned back to the bottle between her hands.

"Well, not really. You know you have a lot of options. You could go anywhere. It's just sad to see you stay in a place like this. It seems... beneath you."

He looked away and took another drink, dismissing her concern.

"I don't have a problem with it, I kind of like the whole anonymity factor this place has. It'll work for me, at least for now. Besides... I'm not sure there's much beneath me, anymore."

"Oh, don't say that. You're just feeling bummed out because this whole thing is fresh in your mind. But it's over, now. Even if EarthGov is after you like you think, at least you don't have to deal with any of that Marker bullshit anymore."

He didn't seem enthused by her logic.

"I don't know about that. I thought the Red Marker was the only one. But then I learned there's a Black Marker on Earth, too. Not that it matters, because they went and built another one. So, what's to stop them from doing it again?"

Without a means to counter his question, she felt a little dismayed.

"... I suppose. I guess it can't be ruled out."

He took a drink, then slowly dropped the bottle and sighed.

"Let's just hope it doesn't happen. Because I am so sick and tired of having to do this shit. It doesn't make any sense. I swear to god... it feels like I'm trapped in a goddamn video game, or something."

Ellie laughed out loud.

"That's a funny way to describe it."

After a moment, she smiled again.

"It's nice to see you open up. I knew you couldn't be all serious."

"I'm just a regular guy. I do have other interests besides fixing things. Or going completely psychotic and killing things."

With a strangely positive expression that stood out in contrast to the dark intent of his words, Isaac took another long drink of his beer then looked around, a silly smile growing on his face. He felt thoroughly pleased; by now, there was not a single voice ringing inside his head.

"Wow. I think... I am officially drunk."

"You can't be that drunk, you've barely had three beers. You're not a lightweight, what are you, 200 pounds?"

He shot a sharp, slightly off-kilter glare at her.

"195, thank you. And for your information my dear, I literally have not had a drink in... years. The only high I've had in a long time is the buzz you get from that... that neural gas, that gets sprayed inside a stasis chamber. You know, that... two seconds you get, right before you pass out... Oh, and they were quite generous with the benzodiazepine, too. I forgot about that. Actually... now that I think about it, I pretty much did spend the past three years totally fucked up out of my mind. Didn't drink, though."

Her jesting grin faded.

"They kept you in stasis?"

In his intoxicated state Isaac was much slower to process, and she could picture his mind tripping over itself with the inertia of an elephant trudging through quicksand.

"Yeah... No... No. Not all the time. They did let me out every once in a while... When they wanted to talk to me. Pick my brain. Or experiment on me. Or stick shit in my eye. Stuff like that."

Despite the sense of humor he projected, the horrific impressions each word left on her mind could not be ignored. Surely his noble attempts to remain positive were hardly enough to mask the sheer ugliness he had been forced to face, and she wondered if perhaps the ability to deflect his pain in such an intelligent way was the only characteristic that set him apart from the much less fortunate Nolan Stross. Fearing where this kind of talk might lead, she felt it was time to redirect the conversation.

"Oh, hey - check it out."

She got up from the couch, walked over to the counter and grabbed the bag. She then came back and sat down, pulled out a hand-sized box, and opened it to reveal about a dozen ripe strawberries.

"These are real, and they're fresh. You want some?"

He looked at the box in her hands, appearing to be baffled as if he were looking at some incomprehensible relic, and when she saw his expression soften, she smiled to see that her plan had worked. Isaac could tell by their color and texture that they were as real as she claimed - grown in a natural, planetary environment, not artificially reconstituted.

"Say, what? Where'd you get those?"

"At the store, duh."

"I didn't see you get them..."

She chuckled, and placed the basket on the table in front of them.

"I don't think you were paying much attention."

With a genuinely amazed countenance, he blinked his eyes.

"I... did not realize real strawberries still exist."

She looked at him a bit oddly, then took one out of the box.

"Of course they do. They import them. They're expensive as hell, though, and a lot harder to find than other fruit."

She looked down at the strawberry in her hand.

"Kinda surprised they had them, actually."

"Hmm. It's been a long time since I've seen real food."

She smiled, and handed it to him.

"Well, time to break the cycle, Isaac. Eat something real. You deserve it."

He took it from her hand and looked at it, admiring it's natural shine - at least, when his eyes could focus on it.

"Wow... How the hell have we humans been surviving out here?"

She snickered at him as she reached into the basket and pulled one out for herself.

"If you haven't noticed, we aren't doing a very good job of it."

He picked at the strawberry in his hands for a few moments, examining it almost childishly, then put the whole thing in his mouth, without even bothering to remove the hull. She eyed him with a smile, then did the same.

"Mmm. Msismoood."

He didn't respond to her, overwhelmed by the impact of its tartness, and he winced. Then, he shook his head in agreement.

"Shomuwlysbnaplit?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"... What?"

He rolled his eyes, and took a moment to finish off what was in his mouth.

"I said, so you've always been a pilot?"

She slowly sat back on the couch.

"Oh... yeah. Yeah, for the most part. I first learned how to fly when I was a kid. My dad taught me, he was a mechanic. Alan used to run an industrial delivery company, and he was friends with my dad for years. They began working together right about the time I was in middle school, and I started helping out. When I got older, I moved into flying heavy equipment - solar cranes, freighters, stuff like that - because Alan would be short on crew from time to time."

Isaac made an odd face, then reached into his mouth and pulled out from between his teeth the hull of the strawberry he had forgotten to remove.

"Blech. You didn't go to college, or tech school?"

Ellie nodded.

"I took some schooling later on, but I had already learned just about everything I needed to know by then. So, I used the opportunity to mess around with some of the more modern technology they had at the college, and then I dropped out after two years. I didn't see the point, really. I already had all the future work connections I would ever need."

"So you learned all that from your dad, huh? He must've been pretty smart."

She reached into the basket, grabbed two more strawberries, and tossed one to him.

"I was close to him growing up. My mom wasn't always around, so he raised me for the majority of my life."

"What was up with your mom?"

"She was also a pilot. She worked long-term dispatch, so she would be gone for months at a time."

"I see."

She looked down, thinking.

"Plus, she and my dad... They didn't always get along. She had some affair a long time back, some guy she met on a job. Long story short she left with the guy, and my dad didn't take it so well. He got sick a few years after all that happened. You know, she didn't even have the courtesy to tell me to my face what she was doing, she just left. That's why I don't talk to her anymore."

With a hint of sympathy Isaac looked at her.

"Aww, that's too bad. I don't blame you, though... I don't get along with Octavia, either."

"Who's Octavia?"

He frowned bitterly.

"The lizard that spawned me."

"Hmm. You must not like her very much."

He cocked his head, an expression dark as a storm cloud forming upon his face.

"Not at all. That woman single-handedly destroyed any shot I had at being somebody."

"How did she manage to do that?"

Feeling thoughtful, he took another drink of his beer and leaned back.

"My father... the man built a fortune on his career. I grew up pretty wealthy as a kid."

Ellie broke a facetious grin.

"Oh, so you're a nerd _and_ a spoiled brat. Now it all makes sense."

He looked at her with an expression that seemed to be joking, but perhaps equally as serious.

"Hey, that was a long time ago. Don't cramp my style."

She laughed a little sheepishly, not quite sure how to process his reaction.

"Sorry. I so did not mean to do that."

He sat there for a moment, his eyes gently scuttling about in their sockets. Then, as if struck by a sudden impulse, he glanced up at her.

"... Hang tight. I'll be right back."

Ellie blinked at him, confused.

"Where are you going?"

He placed his bottle and strawberry down on the table, got up from the couch and headed to the door.

"Just relax. I'll be back in five minutes. Don't go nowhere."

Not knowing what to say, Ellie just glossed at him with uncertainty.

"Umm, ok."

Isaac smiled reassuringly at her, then exited the apartment and the door closed behind him, leaving Ellie in the vacuous silence alone. Having no idea what he was up to, at first she felt a sense of dread that perhaps she might have somehow offended him, but if she had, it certainly did not show in his affect. Confused by his behavior, she began to feel somewhat embarrassed.

 _... Touch and go with this guy.  
_

Seeing as she was obviously going to have a few minutes to herself she sat quietly with her hands in her lap, then started looking around the apartment for something to occupy her attention. When she saw that both of their bottles were nearly empty, she took it upon herself to return to the kitchen to grab two more, then shuffle the remaining unopened bottles into the refrigerator. Then she returned to the couch, placed one bottle next to Isaac's, and slowly reclaimed her seat on the other side. She had opened her bottle and was about to take a sip when the door suddenly opened, and Isaac came back in.

"Alright. You're still here."

She gave him a weak half smile, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Where else would I go?"

He slowly strode up to the couch with his hand in the pocket of his jacket.

"I don't know, but usually the ones who stick around this long mean nothing but trouble."

He winked at her, and she bent a curious eyebrow at him.

"So, where'd you go? Or are you going to keep me in suspense?"

"Oh, just needed to pick up something. Something that'll make these strawberries taste even better, I bet."

Ellie just watched as he sat down on the couch and pulled out a small, round container from his pocket. Leaning forward he unscrewed the container's cap, and dumped the contents of it out onto the table. When the tangy, pungent odor hit her and she realized what it was, a funny look crossed her face.

"Wh... Did you seriously just buy weed?"

"Yep."

"From where?"

He looked at her as if not expecting to hear such naivety, then pointed his thumb toward the door.

"Uh... the kid right outside the door."

He then pulled out a few wrinkled rolling papers, and proceeded to start sifting through the pile of green in front of him. Ellie just stared at him a bit incredulously, then shook her head and took a drink from her bottle to keep from laughing out loud.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're getting comfortable enough to start, you know, forming alliances with the neighbors."

He chuckled.

"When in Rome."

She watched him as he started rolling a joint, then smiled.

"So, you're a pothead, too. I should have guessed."

"Of course."

"You say that like everyone is."

Without raising his eyes from his work, he made a curious face.

"I take it you don't smoke?"

"Sure, I do. I just find it interesting how the ones who always do the heavy work - the work that everybody elses' lives depend on - are always the ones who do."

Again, he just smiled.

"Everybody needs a way to unwind, even the ones who save the world. Or at least manage to escape it. Anybody who tells you differently is a liar."

She watched as he worked quickly and with the same precision he displayed in everything he did, and it impressed her. Feeling her eyes upon him, he glanced up at her.

"Sorry. I just need to mellow out, that's all."

"Why, are you nervous?"

"Always. It's in my nature."

With a swift lick along the paper's edge Isaac sealed the joint, then pulled out a lighter from his pocket. He ignited the end of it, took a deep, savoring puff, then let it out in one long, slow exhalation. Enveloped in a cloud of smoke, he briefly closed his eyes and relaxed his head against the back of the couch with a tipsy grin creeping up on his face.

"So... where were we?"

He drew another hit then reached out to hand Ellie the joint. She took it in her hand, examined it, then took a few gentle puffs.

"You were... telling me about... your father."

"Oh, right. So, anyway... Wait, what was I saying about my father?"

Ellie broke a silly smile and tensed up her throat, trying to prevent the urge to cough.

"Heh... I was going to ask you... what he did for a living."

Isaac lazily threw his hands in the air.

"Ok, now I remember... So, he was a ship designer for the Galactic Union Marine Corp. From what I know... he specialized in universal navigation systems."

"From what you know? So... you didn't have a relationship with him?"

"No. He disappeared when I was a little kid."

Feeling her muscles beginning to relax, Ellie leaned forward to hand the joint back to him, expelling tiny, smoke-laden coughs in between her words.

"You don't know... what happened to him?"

"Nope. No one seemed to know. Or, at least no one would tell me. I tried looking for him years ago, to track down what happened to him. But I hit a brick wall pretty early on when I found out his records were sealed."

"His records were sealed?... That's odd, I wonder why."

With his head back Isaac stared up at the ceiling, not realizing Ellie was trying to hand the joint back to him until he felt a tapping against the side of his hand. He sluggishly turned his head, saw her trying to hand it off to him, then grabbed it.

"Who knows. Maybe he got himself into hot water, kinda like I tend to do. Anyway, I digress. So I had this trust fund, that he put aside for me... oh, thanks... so that I could pay for school when I was older... I actually got accepted into The Academy, the same school he went to."

Ellie looked at him with wonder.

"The Academy? You mean _The_ Academy?"

He drew a long puff and rested his hand on his chest, blowing tiny smoke rings above his head.

"Affirmative."

"Wow, you weren't kidding about the wealthy thing. And don't you have to be specially chosen to even get in there?"

He continued on, glossing over her flattering words with modesty.

"Well... After my father vanished, Octavia obviously took a more active role in his finances. And that's when everything went out the window."

"Why, what did she do?"

He paused for a moment, took another drag from the joint, then handed it back to her.

"You see, I couldn't touch the money until I turned eighteen. So, the first thing I did after my eighteenth birthday was go to the bank. But it was already gone when I got there."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. The account was closed. She took all of that money - _all_ _of it_ \- and you know what she did?"

Ellie suddenly sensed his demeanor take a dark turn. His face tightened and he glared up at the ceiling, then his eyes shot to the bottle on the table Ellie had placed there. He grabbed it, opened it, and took a drink.

"She gave it to the fucking Church of Unitology, that's what she did. She bought herself a Vested-class seat with it."

Ellie's face slackened with total shock.

"Oh, no... Oh, Isaac. That sucks. But, with your trust fund?"

He shrugged angrily, seething in the knowledge that there was nothing he could have done about it.

"She was my legal guardian at the time. Who knows what she did to get to it. But she spent it all. All the inheritance from my father, she sold off all our properties except the house, and bought her front-row ticket to the Mindfuck Show. And I was totally helpless to stop her. Wherever my father is, I hope he never, ever has to know about that shit."

Finding it increasingly difficult to move, Ellie just stared at him sadly as the joint smoldered in her hand.

"What did you do when you found all this out?"

He flashed her a piercing glare.

"What do you think? I went straight home, and beat the living shit out of her."

She gasped.

"Huh? No, you didn't."

He stared at her for a moment, fuming. Then, his expression softened a little.

"No, not really. I just put that in there for effect. But I wanted to, though... I wanted to fucking kill her."

He bared another derisive smirk as a dark memory came to mind, one he did not wish to share at great length, and he washed it back down with another drink.

"But, we did have a confrontation about it. And the bitch kicked me out. Long story short she threatened me, her and her little friends up there in the Church, not to come back. I left, and haven't seen her since that day. You know, she never even apologized to me for taking that money. The entire time, she acted like she was entitled to it. Like the _Church_ was entitled to it. I was nothing to her at all."

Ellie was absolutely shocked to hear this, but tried not to express too much emotion over it.

"Well, that's... an unusual family dynamic you've got there, Isaac."

"I _have_ no family."

Silenced by his viperous resolution she didn't say anything. She just stared at him, not knowing what to feel, until he finally continued.

"So, anyway... All I had left after it all was one safety deposit box in my name that she didn't know about, which had around five grand in cash, and my father's ring."

Reminded of the last remaining piece of his father's memory he had once had, Isaac glanced down at the empty spot on his left middle finger with an inherent sense of remorse.

"I lost that, too. I was wearing it... they must have taken it from me back on the Sprawl. Fuck... I should have never worn it. I should have left it home. Now I really have nothing left to remember him by."

Ellie darted a glance to the side, thinking.

"Since you can't go back home, you would have lost it anyway."

"Yeah, but... at least they wouldn't have it."

Watching the lines of despair begin to form upon his face, Ellie felt truly sorry for him. Though a paltry attempt she knew it was, still she tried to be encouraging.

"You don't need some ring to remember your father, Isaac. I think... you're plenty enough proof of his legacy. I very much doubt that he wouldn't be proud of you."

He just sat there for a moment, pressed one of his fingers to his lips, drew a quiet breath, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he turned to her with a gentle, loving smile and held out his hand, expectantly.

"... You just gonna hang on to that all night?"

Her eye widened as she realized that she had completely forgotten about the joint in her hand, which by this point had developed an ash trail almost an inch long. She quickly sat up and handed it over to him with an apologetic look.

"Sorry."

He took it from her, glancing at her amusingly.

"It's ok. You must be feeling good, then."

With a quick, short blow he cleared the joint's ash trail - then suddenly realized his plan had backfired as the ashes dropped all over his lap.

"Shit."

He started sweeping the ashes off, an act that should have been pretty straightforward had it not been for his current state of mind. His hands were slow and uncoordinated as he tried to manage the task at hand while clutching the joint at the same time, and everywhere he swept the ashes only seemed to dig deeper into his shirt. He was struggling to focus his eyes and he kept grumbling, trying to keep his cool while sweeping with total inefficacy, until he was finally forced to his feet to allow gravity to do the work for him.

"Goddamnit."

As he finally brushed the last of the ashes off his shirt, Ellie, who had been staring at him with wide, plastered eyes, dropped her head and began to laugh.

"Oh my god, Isaac... that was classic. You have the... you have the grace of a mackerel. How ever did you survive?!"

He finally stopped and looked at her, trying to keep a straight face.

"If I were actually smart enough to know the answer to that... then... I, probably wouldn't have ended up here to begin with."

Riding the end trail of her laughter, she rested her arm on the couch and laid her head against her hand.

"Well, honestly... that kind of goes for all of us. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess we're all dumb."

With a friendly smile, she shook her head.

"I don't think so."

Isaac dropped back down on the couch, taking a moment to check the joint in his hand, then seeing it was nearly finished he took one last puff. He placed the butt on the table, then noticed the strawberry he had put down earlier.

"Oh I forgot about that."

He grabbed it, looked it over and then started to eat it, clearly with even more pleasure than before.

"Mmmmmm. See? I told you. Try one now, if you dare."

Ellie grinned, eyed the half empty box on the table, and reached for it. Feeling considerably buzzed herself between the weed and the beer, she nearly knocked the container over, fumbling it between her hands.

"Oh."

She pulled a strawberry out of the box and started to eat it. However, before she could grasp it properly in her teeth a chunk broke off and fell out of her mouth, then onto the floor. She glared at it with an intoxicated eye, and a thin, red trail of juice running down her chin.

"... You bastard."

Isaac laughed at her jokingly.

"Oh, so I see I'm not the only fish out of water around here."

Beginning to blush, she flashed him a mocking glare.

"Oh, shut your bloody mouth."

She sank into the corner of the couch and finished off what she had left of her strawberry, then her beer. She sat there, thinking over their conversation thus far.

"Isaac... you said your mother -"

He rolled his eyes in disgust, then shot her a stern glare.

" _Please_ don't call her that."

"Sorry... you said that she's Vested, right?"

Pressing the bottle in his hands to his lips, Isaac shrugged.

"From what I understand."

Ellie paused again and lowered her eyes, thinking a little deeper.

"Well... do you think that... that she knows about you? About what happened to you?"

He suddenly froze, and the inebriated look of amusement on his face slowly fell away into a dead stare.

"I never actually thought about that."

He leaned back, slowly and with gravity, and his eyes squared out into harsh, little dark boxes as his mind began to race.

"That's a damn good question, Ellie. If I ever see her again, I'll be sure to ask her that. Right before I pull her tongue out through her asshole."

Ellie widened her eye and looked away, once again stunned by this revealing and somewhat caustic side of him. It was a shade different from the much more reserved man she had met on the Sprawl, and it was wondrous to think how much the survival instinct could mask a person's true colors. Isaac, she was beginning to discover, was no exception to this rule; in fact, it was becoming quite obvious that his personality encompassed a far wider spectrum than their limited encounter had suggested.

When she looked back at him, she saw that he was staring right at her.

"Why do you keep gravitating back to this situation, anyway? You're way more interested than I thought you would be."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep prying. It's just that... I find it all so fascinating. Your story is unbelievable... in fact, I wouldn't believe any of it if I hadn't at least seen some of it for myself."

A tone of solemnity entered her voice, and her face became much more serious as she homed in on what it was that bothered her the most.

"This Marker thing... it shouldn't exist. It's not right. I want to know why these people would want to mess with something like that, seeing what it can do. Something like that could destroy every last one of us."

Her words only made her kind-hearted nature even more obvious to him, and knowing that she certainly was not to blame for her natural curiosity, all he could do was to take clemency on her.

"Yeah. It uh, it isn't good."

"If you don't want to talk about it, just tell me. It's okay."

"No, it's alright. You deserve to know. And I suppose it's good to get some of it off my chest. I've never talked to anyone about what actually happened there. I mean, at least not in full, honest truth."

Feeling a little more positive, Ellie now sat up with interest.

"So, tell me. I'm all ears."

"You really want to know?"

She nodded.

"I do."

And so, he told her. For the next few hours before morning, Isaac finally disclosed to Ellie the gruesome details of his adventures while fighting for his life aboard the Ishimura. He told her all about his confrontations with the necromorphs, the deranged crew members, and how he first encountered the Marker. He described for her the giant tentacle that had dragged him down the hall, nearly breaking his leg, and the raging brute that had grabbed him, raised him above the floor, and would have torn him in half had he not landed that well-placed shot between the monster's back plates. He sent her spine to tingling as he explained how he grappled the Leviathan in zero gravity, and how he sweat bullets having to blast through a field of asteroids while the Ishimura's automated defense system was down. He delineated the unfortunate deaths of his fellow team members, the crazed, Unitologist fanatics that stalked him, and even about the act of betrayal carried out by Kendra Daniels. Finally he arrived at the Hive Mind, and he told Ellie all about what it was like, how big it was, how he overcame it, and inadvertently sent the entire planet into a downward spiral of annihilation because of it.

The only thing he did not talk about was Nicole. He told Ellie nothing of her broken message, nothing of the indescribable panic he felt when he had first learned about the Ishimura's communication blackout, or the ever-increasing horror as he progressively discovered Nicole's RIG logs, and ultimately learned of her fate. He refrained from disclosing anything about how she had appeared to him, lured him to the planet with the promise of being made whole only to learn she had been a figment of his imagination the entire time. Finally, he did not tell Ellie about the necromorph he had found aboard the escape shuttle along with him, the one wearing Nicole's cold, dead face. And knowing what a painful experience it all must have been for him, Ellie did not find it necessary to ask him anything about her.

Beyond that, Ellie was fully entranced the entire time, clinging to his every last word, and perhaps taking an even greater interest now than she had during any of their earlier conversation. For Isaac it was exhausting to relive it all again, but he didn't mind this time; he was thankful for the opportunity. The more he revealed the horrifying truth that was overshadowing his mind, the more grounded he began to feel - especially with Ellie, who unlike anyone he had met so far was impressively intelligent, seemed to have a perfectly realistic understanding of him, and grasped everything he told her as if she had been there, without any assumptions that he was untrustworthy or deemed 'insane' as a result of being compromised by the Marker. It all felt like a great burden lifted to finally have found a like mind, and this encouraged him to indulge her desire to hear more, until he was taking almost as profound an interest in the subject again as she was.

When Isaac's pace had slowed to a crawl and she could tell he was getting tired, Ellie finally glanced at her RIG to check the time.

"Oh, wow. We've been up all night."

By this point, Isaac was already partially reclined on the couch, with his feet up on the table. He had finally stopped talking, his head was back, and his eyes weren't open anymore. The last empty bottle of beer stood precariously on the arm of the couch, clasped loosely within his limp hand.

"..."

"Isaac?"

"... Yes?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Sorry. I thought you fell asleep."

"I'm about to."

"... Ok. Well, I just wanted to say... thanks for talking with me. I know it took a lot of nerve to. I really had fun... you're an okay guy."

"..."

Ellie tsked quietly at herself with chagrin, feeling her words were sorely inadequate to stand in the place of what she really had wanted to say. Just as she thought that he wasn't going to respond, she heard him mumble.

"... You can have the bed."

"Oh no, Isaac, don't be silly. You take the bed. You paid for it, you should have it."

"No. I don't mind."

"I'm not taking the bed."

He finally raised his head and glared at her.

"Well, I'm taking the couch. You can have the nice, comfy bed, or the cold, hard floor. Your choice, Ellie."

Realizing the futility of arguing with him, Ellie just smirked and crossed her arms.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll take the bed. You take the cramped up couch."

"... Thank you. Was that so hard?..."

She got up from the couch, took a few toiletries out of the bag, and slowly started stumbling her way toward the bathroom.

"Hope you don't mind if I take a shower."

There was no response, so she turned around.

"Isaac?"

She saw that he had sprawled himself out entirely upon the couch, he was completely motionless, eyes closed and he was breathing steadily. Realizing he had already fallen asleep, she rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom, trying not to smile too much.

"Oh... good night, Isaac."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Charles Keller sat within the confines of his solid glass cell, with his hands intertwined before his chest and his eyes closed, rapt in meditation upon the Marker's messages passing through his head like a transcendental breeze. For an enlightened one like himself, the Marker was his only solace from a most cruel and unforgiving world.

 **turn it off turn it off turn it off turn it off** **turn it off**

His deep, somatic trance was suddenly jarred loose by a tapping sound, and Charles opened his eyes to see one of his physicians standing just outside of his transparent cell, with his knuckles against the glass. The intercom inside the cell suddenly rang out with the sound of the physician's voice, sounding raspy and disconnected over the static.

"Mr. Keller, the Overseer wishes to speak with you."

The intercom snapped off, and with a complete lack of expression Charles unfolded his hands and brought them down into his lap. With pristine grace he then rose from the low-laying bench he was sitting on, began straightening the folds of his pure white, silk jacket with a compulsive sense of perfection, and waited patiently for the gate of his cell to open. He heard the warning alarm, muted from behind the thick glass, and the punching sounds of the hydraulic locks as they released to open the gate. Charles' physician was standing on the other side as it opened, and he motioned to a pair of fully armored Unitologist soldiers standing just behind him.

"Ready, Mr. Keller."

The guards quickly entered the cell and approached Charles, who with the placid response of a domesticated animal blinded by routine, raised his wrists and held them out without resistance. One of the soldiers was holding a pair of thick metal handcuffs, each one bearing along the lock an electronic microchip that emitted a soft, blinking red light, and the other soldier was holding a pair of chains. Charles stared blankly ahead of him with dark, featureless eyes as the first soldier snapped the cuffs around his wrists, checked to see that the microchip's status lights had turned a solid blue on both, and stepped back. Upon his command the second soldier immediately swept in and attached the chains, one to each of the handcuffs, then attached one to a reinforced loop on his belt and the other to his partner's. When they had finished, the soldiers pulled out their pulse rifles and ordered Charles out of the cell. Charles lowered his arms to his sides and calmly strode out of the cell onto the observation deck, stopping just short of pulling his chains taught.

"Will the Overseer... be requiring another... session today?"

As he asked the question, Charles spasmodically twisted his neck and head to the left side twice, and blinked his eyes strongly several times. Without looking up at him, the physician adjusted the cuffs around Charles' wrists.

"I don't have that information. But it is a matter of utmost importance."

Without further conversation the physician led Charles out of the observation deck, with the two tethered soldiers closely in tow. The small entourage made their way down several long, twisted corridors lined with charcoal colored carpeting and cold steel walls, passing by many doors that all looked the same save for the identifying number on each one. The physician stopped in front of one of them, opened the hololock, and walked inside.

"Follow me."

Charles silently followed the physician into a small, harshly lit room with bland, naked grey walls. There was a wooden desk and two chairs on either side facing opposite each other, but not much room for anything else. The physician motioned to one of the chairs.

"Have a seat."

The two soldiers entered behind Charles and took post on either side of the chair he sat down in, staring at him through their skull-shaped masks as they stood at attention with their rifles. They stood far enough away to keep the chains held taught at their hips, and Charles drawn open by his arms. Once the soldiers were positioned, the physician turned to him.

"The Overseer will be with you in a moment."

The physician then swept out of the room like the wind, closing the door behind him. Left alone with the two soldiers Charles stared straight ahead of him, silent, rocking gently back and forth upon his tethered arms. The room was deafeningly quiet save for the occasional chime of the chains as they swayed with Charles' movements, and it seemed to last forever until the door finally opened again.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Mr. Keller."

The Overseer was a fossil of a man, his face cold and lined by deep trenches like the surface of a glacier. His hair was a thinning patch of pure white snow atop his head, and the thick, black robe he was wearing seemed large and almost overshadowing against his small body frame. His eyes, dark like ash, jumped right to Charles as he swept into the room with the pomp of a wise, aged egret, and sat down in the chair directly across from him.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice."

Charles knew the Overseer's statement was nothing more than a hollow formality; for an Oracle of the Church, compliance was never a choice. As he looked into the Overseer's eyes with a dead, dark-eyed gaze, his head violently twitched again, and his eyelids fluttered.

"Yes.. yes, sir. My... pleasure."

The Overseer looked at Charles through cold, unfeeling eyes as he observed his involuntary twitching, and he tapped his fingernails upon the surface of the desk.

"What's the matter, Mr. Keller? You're having the convulsions again. Are they giving you your medication properly?"

With the lifelessness of a china doll, Charles stared at the Overseer.

"Yes."

"But they're getting worse?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

The Overseer leaned back in the chair, keeping a hard stare upon Charles.

"I've been informed that you picked up 3A's signal again this morning."

"Yes."

"Are you able to tell me where it is coming from yet?"

"No. But it is broadcasting from somewhere within our star system. It is close."

The Overseer nodded, then began to reach into the inside pocket of his vest.

"Interesting. Mr. Keller, we need you to try again. We need to know where it is. Are you able to comply?"

Charles nodded, distant and deadpan.

"The signal is progressively getting stronger. It's merely a matter of time, sir."

"Very good. We will proceed."

The Overseer motioned to the soldiers, who took a few steps closer to slacken the chains and allow Charles to lower his arms onto the table. One of the soldiers deactivated the glowing microchips upon Charles' handcuffs, and the moment the lights went dim both soldiers immediately raised their pulse rifles directly at him.

"Don't move."

The Overseer, without removing his glare from Charles, pulled out of his vest pocket a red box that was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He placed the box on the table and flipped open the top, revealing a small, plain silver ring stored inside of it. The Overseer withdrew the ring from the box, and handed it across the table to Charles.

"Let's begin."

Charles calmly reached up and took the ring from the Overseer's hand, sensing the tension of the soldiers' grips upon their rifles as he did so. Charles then slipped the ring onto the middle finger of his right hand, and slowly lowered both of his hands back down onto the table, open and palms down. After a few seconds, the ring began to radiate a faint, crimson red glow. The Overseer stared at him intently.

"If you are successful, Mr. Keller... keep him engaged for as long as you can."

Charles slowly closed his eyes.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Ellie was stirred awake by the sound of what she gradually came to realize as she drew closer to consciousness was a voice, calling out.

"This can't be right. I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

It was an intrusion that had broken her sound sleep, and alarmed by it she opened her eyes, raised her head and turned her gaze to the couch, where she heard the voice coming from. She saw that Isaac was wide awake, sitting up, and was leaning forward with an intent stare down upon the table in front of him - more specifically, a small pile of papers lying on top of it. All of a sudden he spoke out loud, apparently to nobody.

"This elemental combination doesn't support the numbers, sir. But, how? I don't see how." _  
_

It didn't seem he was aware that Ellie was awake, nor that she was watching him. He continued on without interruption, speaking out loud then pausing, then speaking again with the cadence of a conversation, and at first she thought that he must have been communicating with someone. But when she looked across the room, she confirmed that his RIG was sitting on a nightstand near the bathroom, and it was off. Her eye widened a little.

 _What the hell?_

Recalling his strange episode the first night at Alan's, Ellie began to develop a sinking feeling in her gut. She wanted to observe him in an effort to understand what he was doing, but out of fear of capturing his attention she laid motionless in the bed as if she were sleeping, ever so slowly curled her head to the side so she had an open view of the couch, and watched without a single sound or movement as Isaac became more and more passionately involved in whatever discussion he was having... with whomever he was having it. He frustratingly scratched the sides of his head, glared down at the page in front of him and dropped the pen from his hand.

"... What you're asking is impossible!... No, I can't make sense of this. These calculations. You're talking about raising the Curie temperature from, what? From 554, to 563?... so now you've completely baffled the permittivity... yes, that's exactly what they found out. That the substrate won't hold up under those conditions... "

Suddenly he stopped, tilted his head upward with wide eyes, and a growing sense of amazement spread across his face.

"No... wait... I understand. Yes... Yes! I get what you mean... I get it. Yeah, that might work."

Isaac looked back down at the paper, whispering things to himself Ellie couldn't hear, then picked up the pen and began writing again without another word. After about a minute or so he had not said anything else, and sensing her chance to intercede Ellie slowly sat up in the bed, her eyes locked upon him.

"Hey."

Isaac did not respond or acknowledge her presence as if he were on a different plane of existence altogether, and Ellie's suspicions about his condition began to grow deeper. Building up the nerve, she slipped out of the bed and slowly, reluctantly approached him.

"... Isaac?"

She came within feet of him, but he still did not respond in any way. His eyes never moved and he continued writing upon the paper, unabated by her approach which made it seem as if she were watching some pre-recorded video she could not interact with. A tinge of fear began to set in, spurred by the fact that the last time this had happened he was at least aware of her presence, but now he appeared to be caught in an unbreakable trance that isolated her completely. Not sure of what to do, she tried to gain his attention by waving her hand in front of his face. When even this action failed to derive any results, her heart began to palpitate.

 _Oh, no._

She drew a deep, shaky sigh and sat down next to him on the couch, by now understanding that he was miles away, and she looked over his shoulder at what he was writing. Her breath was almost taken away by the endless strings of numbers and chain sequences of indescribable characters that flowed freely from the tip of his pen in a solid, unbroken stream, as if he were merely dictating. She really didn't know much about the Marker or how it might be affecting him, and the chaotic speed and fervor with which he wrote, coupled with his complete fixation upon the task and lack of response to her, at first was very frightening. However, as she watched him quietly, trying to translate the alien integers he was transcribing with an erudite perfection that seemed beyond the intellectual scope of any normal human being, she began to wonder if what she was witnessing wasn't the result of a psychotic episode but something else entirely, beyond her ability to understand - perhaps even beyond his. Filling with a sense of astonishment she began to let go of her fear, eventually losing track of time as she watched him fill page after page after page of perfectly aligned symbols and mathematically arranged lines, wondering all along what exactly he was listening to inside his head.

 _Pretty damn amazing. For a fucked up lab rat._

Some time later - long enough to have observed the shift in the sunlight's direction coming in through the window - Isaac finally stopped and placed the pen upon the table, then folded his hands before him and closed his eyes. He sat there in silence for a while, and Ellie, who had been fighting the urge to doze off continued to watch him him breathlessly through heavy eyelids, curious to see what he would do next. However he said nothing more and he had stopped moving entirely, prompting her to suspect his trance had turned inward. Not knowing how to break it or when he might come out of it himself, she felt compelled to reach out to him.

"Hey..."

She lightly tapped his shoulder with her finger, and the instant she came in contact with him she could feel as his entire body tensed up in response. This startled her and she quickly pulled her hand back, eying him cautiously until Isaac turned his head back over his shoulder to face her. When their eyes met, a frighteningly cold sensation shot through her entire body.

"... You. Whoever you are. You need to leave this place."

Isaac's voice was intimidating, and his face was barely able to mask the tempest brewing just under the surface. As he glared at her through eyes filled with an indescribable hatred that seemed frighteningly out of character, he suddenly winced and jerked his neck with a tense, twitching motion.

"You... you don't... you don't belong here."

Upon this he looked down, and the dark, hateful expression suddenly vanished. In a complete reversal of character his eyebrows sank, his eyes widened and his voice completely changed, and he looked as if he was experiencing something absolutely terrifying.

"No... stop it... let me out..."

Ellie watched in shock as he descended into a panic, his body began to shake violently, and his eyes rolled back into his head. He pitched over onto the couch and started to foam at the mouth, and realizing he was having a seizure Ellie leapt up and frantically tried to control him.

"Isaac! Oh, god... Breathe! Just breathe..."

* * *

Charles' eyes flew open and he threw himself back in the chair, his eyes pulled wide, his mouth hanging agape, and all of his focus turned inward upon some indiscernible, terrible emotion. His fists were clenched tight enough to the point of shaking, and sweat had beaded upon his forehead, but neither the soldiers holding him at gunpoint nor the Overseer showed any compassion.

"Mr Keller, come to your center. What have you been able to find out? Mr, Keller, are you listening to me? Tell me what you've seen."

After a long, tense moment, Charles brought himself under control, prompted by the tips of the soldiers' rifles pressed into his back. The exasperated look upon his face slackened, he relaxed his fists, and as he resumed in his usually emotionless manner he looked down to examine his slightly disheveled suit. He immediately started to straighten it with compulsive attention to detail, and without looking up he finally spoke.

"... The signal is... it is coming from somewhere very close... very close to Earth."

The Overseer's eyes narrowed, then shot back and forth.

"Close to Earth?... The lunar colony."

He glanced up and smiled darkly at Charles, who by now was as calm as a sedated animal.

"What happened? You lost the connection."

Charles briefly clenched his jaw, and tilted his neck from side to side.

"I was interrupted. Someone else was present."

The Overseer nodded, still bearing his sardonic grin.

"And what about the Codes? Does he still remember them?"

For the first time since coming back to his outer awareness, Charles finally looked up at the Overseer.

"He still carries them intact. However, he is having trouble comprehending... comprehending some of the calculations. I am trying to assist him, but it will take... take time. He is able to consciously perceive my presence and block me, which makes it difficult... to speak to him directly, or maintain indefinite contact. However, this time it was easier than usual... he seemed to be... inebriated."

The Overseer drew a breath, and glanced down in thought.

"... Yes, it will take some time. That's to be expected. But you appear to be a reliable connection. You'll work for our purposes, until we either extract all the data he has, or something changes. At least we know where he is now."

He shot an icy glare back up at Charles.

"You're free to return, Mr. Keller. When we need your services again, we'll call for you."

Upon the Overseer's concluding statement he held out his hand, prompting Charles to surrender the ring upon his finger. When he removed it and handed it back, the two soldiers immediately seized upon him and reactivated the security microchips upon his handcuffs. Then with a rough tug on the chains, they forced him up.

"On your feet."

With a serene expression sewn across his face, Charles again twisted his neck and stared blankly ahead of him as the door opened, and the physician walked back in. With an expectant look upon his face, the physician motioned to Charles.

"Let's go, Mr. Keller."

Charles started to head out the door, when he was suddenly stopped by the sound of the Overseer's voice at his back.

"Mr. Keller..."

Charles slowly turned back around to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

He saw the Overseer was staring into him with an ominous frown upon his ancient, wrinkled face.

"Thank you for your assistance. You'll be appropriately compensated."

Charles nodded solemnly.

"Yes sir."

Without another word, Charles straightened his back and stalked elegantly out of the room, ready to return to his home of peaceful solitude behind solid glass.

 _The Marker was awaiting his return._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Isaac's return to consciousness began as a painful throbbing inside his head, followed by the stinging of a parched throat. Spurred by the need to cough he forced himself upright and opened his eyes, only to be blindsided by sunlight as it poured in through the window. He looked around and saw the apartment was dead quiet, he was alone.

 _What happened?_

To his dismay, he couldn't remember much of what had happened the night before. The time he had spent alone with Ellie was a complete blur, but as he looked around, bits and pieces started coming back to him - along with the awareness of a coppery taste inside his mouth, and a burning sensation near the back of his tongue. Curious, he reached into his mouth with his finger, and dragged it gently along the side of his tongue until he felt a small dent that was painful to the touch. When he pulled his finger back out, he saw the tip of it was red with fresh blood.

"Ow."

He sucked the blood between his teeth with a grimace, figuring a trip to the bathroom was in order. He rose from the bed and headed for it, rounded the corner of the doorway toward the sink on the other side. Feeling a nagging twinge of nausea rising up, he braced his arms against the sink and leaned forward, spitting the blood out of his mouth into the basin as he gently rocked back and forth on his wrists. He then turned the faucet on, collected a mouthful of water to rinse, another to swallow, then a handful or two to wash his face.

As he looked up into the mirror, he observed a bruise along the left side of his temple. He gazed at it, noticing it was dark and fresh, but he couldn't remember how he had acquired it. This, along with Ellie's unexplained disappearance, sent the anxiety in the back of his mind festering into panic.

 _What the hell happened here?  
_

He stared uncomfortably at his sallow-eyed reflection in the mirror, trying desperately to remember anything of the past several hours... but unable to think of anything other than the Marker. After an indeterminate period of time Isaac finally shook off his dead stare, pulled back from the sink and stepped out into the living room, looking all around for anything that might give him any clues. For the most part the apartment was still clean and in order, so it was obvious that no real chaos had ensued, which was assuring in a very mild sense.

His eyes then fell upon the table in front of the couch, which in total contrast, was nothing but chaos - it's top was completely covered in a layer of paperwork, crumpled and scattered all across its surface in hastily assembled, partially collapsed stacks. Thick, frantic black lines marked each page, indented into the paper so deep that tears were evident even from a distance.

 _Oh, no._

Isaac took a few steps closer to the table, and as he neared it, the deep, black scribbles revealed themselves to be what he had feared they might be - symbols of the Marker language, flowering across the pages in long, spiraling, systematic patterns of varying sizes, and obviously written in a fluster. Peering out darkly from beneath the crisp, crudely tied ligatures were large red blobs like spilled ink somehow shaped and scratched into multiple portraits of the Marker at various perspectives, each one detailed enough to clearly represent even the symbol-laden crevices. As his eyes feverishly scanned the table, Isaac noticed there was only one black pen still lying there, leaving him to question from where he had managed the red.

 _Did Ellie see any of this?_

As frightened as he was by the prospect that he had again lost control of himself, Isaac was also curious to understand what he had been writing - something he had absolutely no memory of doing. He slowly approached the table and started sifting through the papers strewn across it, sweeping some aside. The deeper into the piles he went, the more detailed and foretelling the underlying pages revealed themselves to be, and he finally stopped when he came across a page that was completely cornered from top to bottom with an endless stream of mathematical symbols, written small enough to encapsulate hundreds of them on a single line, and many of which he did not recognize. As he looked at it, he very briefly forgot his most immediate concerns.

 _Hmm. He had been struggling with this part for a while. How did he come to this conclusion? Had he tested it, at least in a theoretical projection?_

Isaac lifted the page and glanced underneath at a labyrinth of strange symbols, number combinations and crude, wireframe sketches of various Marker designs. He had no memory of having documented such things, but he knew exactly what it was. What he had been designed to do.

"Oh, hey you!"

Isaac's heart leapt up into his throat as a voice suddenly came at him from behind. He shot a wide eyed look over his shoulder and saw Ellie was standing in the living room, looking at him expectantly. He evidently hadn't heard her come in, judging by the startled look on his face.

"Jeez. Relax. You look like you just woke up to grenades being tossed at you."

He continued to stare at her, frozen in place, until the coy smile upon her face began to slip out of concern.

"I'm sorry. I, didn't mean to scare you. Really, you ok?"

As her face took on a more serious expression, he slowly turned around to face her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Is, everything..."

Isaac's lost gaze and nervous inquiry betrayed his attempt to act as if everything were normal. Sensing his confusion, she nodded reassuringly.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Don't worry."

She sidestepped into the kitchen, slipped the knapsack she had been carrying off her shoulder and placed it down on the counter.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I tried to wait for as long as I could, but I needed to pick up a few things. I hope you haven't been wondering."

"It's ok. I just got up a few minutes ago... I think."

He just watched her through a detached stare as she opened the bag and began pulling items out of it. He eyed her body language, and too afraid to ask her directly, he waited for her to say something. She eventually paused, keeping her eyes on the bag.

"So... I umm, I'm glad you're alright."

She pulled out a small box of bandages and a bottle of wound cleaning solution.

"I got these... to wrap up that bruise you've got there."

Unsettled by her words, Isaac reached up and touched the bruise on his head.

"Yeah... about that. What happened? I hope nothing uhh, nothing... untoward..."

Anticipating his fears, Ellie immediately shook her head.

"No, no. Nothing like that. You were just fine. You just... well, you had a seizure."

Isaac blinked in surprise.

"What?"

Ellie tried to remain casual as she sorted through the items in her bag.

"Y, yeah. I mean, that's what I think it was... I'm not a doctor, you know. You have a history of those?"

Isaac shot a skeptical glare at her.

"No... not that I'm aware of."

Not knowing what else to say, she shrugged.

"Ok... Umm, well, you... you seem to be doing much better, now. It wasn't that bad... actually. The seizure, I mean."

"Not that bad? Where'd this bruise come from?"

Though she wasn't aware of it, her chest started to blush beneath her tank top.

"You umm... You banged your head against the table. You started having convulsions, and I tried to keep you from falling off, but... you're a really big guy when you're flailing around like that. There wasn't much I could do but... wait it out."

She nibbled at her lip, looking a bit more apologetic.

"I also think you bit your tongue. I did manage to get you to bite down on -"

Having heard enough, Isaac smiled in an attempt to express gratitude.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It wasn't my intention to throw that on you."

Ellie just smiled in return, knowing that the words weren't necessary. Her eyes traveled across his disheveled clothing, then she turned back to the knapsack and pulled out a set of clean, brand new clothes.

"Got these for you. Figured you'd want to change out by now, hope I got the size right."

She picked up the first aid kit, and gazing over Isaac's sad, tired gaze with amnesty, she motioned to him.

"Why don't you come sit down, over here. Let me take a look at that thing."

Without a word he kept his eyes upon her as she walked past him, and directed him to sit down. He obeyed her breathlessly, happy to receive her attention, and took a seat quietly on the couch while she opened up the first aid kit. She pulled out some gelpacks and bandages, then briefly examined the bruise on his head, which was still marked with lines of fresh blood.

"It's not as bad as I thought. Just a little gash."

She carefully started to dab a swab around the wound.

"So, you don't remember anything about what happened?"

Keeping his eyes forward as she worked, Isaac barely shook his head.

"No."

"What's the last thing you do remember?"

He paused for a moment.

"... I remember coming back here, right after the restaurant."

She glanced up from her work at him.

"Really?... That's it?"

She saw as his eyes shot toward the mysterious pile of papers upon the table, and his brow creased even deeper. Clearly, he was as much an unaware observer of his work as she was.

"I mean, it's alright. You did say it had been a while since you drank, so... I just, I was hoping..."

"Hoping what?"

She briefly glanced at him then away again, trying to force back a smile.

"... Well, we had a nice talk last night. I learned a lot about you. I just hope you can remember what you learned about me."

He weakly attempted to smile back.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

"... Who are you?"

They both fell silent as their eyes met, each trying to read the other, until Isaac looked away.

"I'm really sorry. I'm nothing but trouble, I told you that..."

Ellie would have none of it as she prepped one of the bandages.

"Stop apologizing. I know this hasn't exactly been an easy experience for you. You're okay now, that's all that matters."

He didn't seem eased by her attempt to placate.

"No, Ellie. Sleepwalking. And now seizures. I've never done any of this stuff before. And the visions aren't going away. Something is wrong."

"It's just like what you showed me last night at the restaurant. Whatever it is, there has to be a... reason for it."

She made a very quaint, albeit odd expression as she stated this, perhaps an unconscious act. But Isaac noticed it, and suspecting it masked something deeper, he kept his eyes upon her as she finished applying the bandage to his head.

"What is it, Ellie?"

Feeling the gravity in his voice, she sighed.

"Well, about last night... The notes weren't the only thing."

"Yeah?"

"You were talking. To someone."

He narrowed his eyes upon her.

"Talking to who? You mean someone here?"

Ellie looked down at the unopened bandages in her lap and started to push them back into the package, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"No. I mean... in your mind. Like, telepathically. I don't know. I think that's why you were writing all that stuff."

Isaac didn't respond to her, and she eventually cleared her throat.

"Ahem... I should probably check your shoulder. And your hand, too."

Struck by what she was telling him, Isaac hardly noticed as she carefully rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bandage tacked to his left shoulder.

"What was it that we were talking about?"

Ellie paused, once again finding the precision in his choice of words to be rather striking. It was as if he took his enigmatic conversations for granted, showing more of a concern in the subject matter than in the recipient.

"I don't know, Isaac... Stuff I don't understand. I guess it's about these Codes you were telling me about."

Ellie started gently peeling away the bandage on his shoulder, making her way around until it lifted away. She glanced at the wound underneath, and her eyes brightened.

"Oh - it's healing rather nicely, actually."

Isaac joined her in observation of his shoulder. While he could still see the small, circular dent where the javelin's impact had occurred, thanks to the accelerated healing properties of somatic gel the gaping hole was completely sealed, and the skin had healed over in a smooth layer of pink, freshly regenerated flesh. He flexed his shoulder muscles, watching as the nascent, pocked skin stretched with his movements like plastic putty.

"Hmm."

His view was obscured as Ellie quickly dabbed the area with gel, then wrapped a fresh strip of gauze around and started to fasten it. She worked quickly, and within seconds she had already moved on to his hand. Before he knew it she had the bandage off, prompting him to look at it.

"Hey, look at that."

The hole in the center of his palm had closed up completely, and all that was left of the gaping puncture was a small bulge of fresh, pink skin on either side of his hand. He gently massaged it with the fingers of his right hand, feeling as the healing nerves tingled just beneath the flesh. He nodded approvingly, then Ellie cleaned and dressed it in clean gauze. When she was finished, she took a step back and brushed her hands with satisfaction.

"Looking good! You'll be rid of these bandages in just a couple of days."

Again, Isaac flexed his hand, and feeling a sense of relief in the intermission, he turned his attention to the bag on the counter.

"... Thanks. So, I guess I must've been out for a while, huh? You were busy."

Ellie gathered the discards of her work and tossed them on the table.

"I was only gone for a couple hours. I stopped at Alan's on the way back, just to catch up with him after yesterday."

Isaac paused thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah. How's he doing? Hope I didn't impose too much on your friend."

"Nah. Alan doesn't mind. He's always been there for me like family, so anything goes. And he likes you actually, thinks you're pretty smart."

Isaac gave a nervous chuckle.

"Well, he didn't turn me in - so he's okay in my book."

Ellie flashed a smile to keep the mood light, fighting an impending weight upon her mind. She slowly came over and sat down next to Isaac on the couch, keeping her eyes on her hands.

"So... umm... we were talking - Alan and I - and, it looks like he found me a job."

Isaac turned to look at her.

"Oh? ... Is that right?

"Yeah. It's uhh, it's right up my alley - satellite crane operator. Independent contract gig."

He sensed the tension in her, how difficult it was to say in spite of her seemingly affable front. But he didn't want to derail her progress; finally, things were getting back on track.

"Oh... well, hey, that's great! Where?"

She finally raised her eyes to meet his, if only briefly.

"... Ceres."

As he comprehended her reply, Isaac's forced enthusiasm began to plummet.

"Ceres?... Off Neptune?"

"Yep."

He blinked in the midst of a most awkward silence.

"Wow. That's... that's pretty far."

Ellie drew a sharp breath.

"You know how it is, Isaac. Gotta go where the work is."

In that moment, Isaac felt totally violated by his own logic and struggled to stay the course. A faraway place like Ceres was exactly where she needed to be... but nowhere near where he wanted her to be.

"Yeah. No, that's good. I'm glad for you, Ellie. You should definitely do it."

Ellie could sense his emotional embattlement, but considering how eager he was to push her away, she still wasn't certain about his true feelings. Still, ever the one to push the envelope, she tried even now to convince him to follow through on what she thought - or at least hoped - he really wanted.

"You know... I could talk to him about getting you on board, too."

To her disappointment, Isaac quickly voiced dissent.

"No, Ellie. I can't do it."

"Who would know? It's not a CEC joint, no employment records, its -"

Isaac cast a slow, sweeping glance of remorse at her feet.

"I can't take that chance. You know that."

She began to raise her voice in argument.

"Come on. You think they won't find you here, Isaac? How's this place any safer than a place like Ceres?"

He shook his head a little more vehemently.

"They can find me anywhere. I don't expect New Horizons to be any exception. That's why I can't have you anywhere near me. Not here, not on Ceres, not anywhere. You understand?"

She flashed him a stern look, then looked down.

"... Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

He saw she was hurting, but he tried to move the conversation forward.

"I guess this means you'll be leaving pretty soon, then?"

Ellie nodded, trying to feign indifference.

"Later on tonight, probably. The position's open immediately, and if I don't take it, somebody else will. So there's no point in wasting any time, right?"

Isaac looked at her.

"Tonight?... yeah, no point in wasting any time."

She saw a cloud over him as he looked down, and she sought to soften the blow.

"You know, Alan told me about the job the day we got here. I just... made the decision today, that's all. It has nothing to do with what happened last night. You know that, right?"

He looked up at her again, his expression blank and unreadable.

"Of course. How's your eye doing?"

Ellie blinked and pulled back, confused by the shift in direction but she rolled with it.

"It's - it's fine. I haven't looked at it yet, but it feels great. There's no pain. I think I'm ready to take the bandage off."

"I thought they said to leave it on for a few days."

The more she thought about it, the more she beamed with the impatience of a young girl about to get her braces removed for the first time.

"I know, but I can tell that it really healed fast. It works just fine, I can feel it. And besides... I want you to see it before I go. I really don't want your last memory of me to be of this stupid eye patch."

Isaac twisted his lip.

"Well ok, if you say so. You want to do it right now?"

Her face brightened even further.

"Right now?... Ok, sure!"

"Here, I'll take it off for you."

Isaac sat up and turned to face her, gently catching her chin in one hand and gripping the eye patch's adhesive strip in the other. She giggled under her breath as he smiled and prepared to remove the patch.

"And... drumroll, please. Introducing Ellie Langford's brand new..."

He softly pulled the bandage off and she immediately opened her eyelid with a broad grin, revealing her artificial implant for the first time. The joking, lighthearted expression upon Isaac's face immediately fell flat into sheer puzzlement as he looked at it.

"... Oh fuck, Ellie."

Her smile evaporated.

"What?"

He tsked, shaking his head disapprovingly as he continued looking into her eye.

"It's the wrong color."

"The wrong _color_?"

"Yeah. This one's... it's green!"

Ellie stiffened in his grasp.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

She then stood up and walked into the bathroom to observe it for herself.

"Oh... _auuuuughhhh!_ "

Isaac tried to stifle a laugh behind her back as she screamed at her reflection.

"Aww, it's not that bad, Ellie. It's actually kinda cute. You look like a genetically altered rat."

She scowled at him from behind the bathroom wall.

"Shut up, Isaac."

"Hey, don't take it out on me, now. I told you to go with the better model in the first place. You could've calibrated the eye color on that one."

" _Oooooooohhh..._ "

Isaac finally sighed and threw up his hands.

"It looks fine. You can't even tell it's an implant, at least."

Ellie finally stepped out of the bathroom, bearing a small, girlish pout of insecurity.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. You probably could get them to switch out the color plate for you, but... I dunno. This is an interesting look. More importantly, how does it work?"

His words convinced her she could ultimately dismiss the transgression, at least long enough to test the eye's functionality. She began looking all around the room to exercise its range of movement.

"It's fine. The image is a little fuzzy right now, but it's improving the longer I look at the light."

"See? Then, that's all that matters."

Ellie stepped back into the bathroom to snag one more glance at it in the mirror.

"Bloody hell. I _just_ got Alan to punt me a fresh passport today... I listed that I have an implant, but I marked the color as 'blue'. I hope they don't notice."

Isaac started to laugh.

"It's a fake passport. You're worried about getting the eye color right?"

She just stared at him with her lips folded into a little frown until he got up, walked over and gave her a hug of consolation.

"It's beautiful, Ellie. I told you it would be."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Isaac and Ellie spent the next few hours in the downtown district. The flightport was located directly next to the main concourse, so their plan was to stop for lunch, pick up Ellie's ticket, and then figure out what else to do with themselves until it was time for her to leave. For what little he had left with her, Isaac was eager to be out of the apartment and on his feet, surrounded by things to distract him from her impending departure.

This time around, Ellie noticed that ostensibly, Isaac didn't appear to be as shell-shocked as he had the night before. He didn't shy away from the crowds as much, and he wasn't constantly looking over his shoulder as they walked. It certainly seemed to be a positive indication that he was acclimating to normal life again.

"Well, you seem to be in a much better mood, now. That's good."

She smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back. However, little did she know that Isaac wasn't feeling better at all; he was simply too terrified by the prospect of losing his friend to care about being discovered for the time being. Still, he did a convincing job of showing her otherwise, by keeping his emotions at bay and putting on a lighthearted front.

"You know, just taking it one day at a time. I'll be alright."

They eventually stopped for a very late lunch that neither one really had the appetite for. They kept the chat light as a means to pass the time, and after they finished they worked their way slowly toward the flightport. Ellie approached one of the self-service ticket kiosks outside, and Isaac stood back several feet as she scanned the flight schedules, selected one of the early evening flights and purchased a ticket. He kept his eyes on the ground as she completed the transaction, childishly hoping in the back of his mind that there wouldn't be any available flights to carry her off, but to his dismay she came back with a ticket in her hand.

"Alright, got that taken care of."

Isaac's eyes drifted up to meet hers, trying not to look defeated.

"What time's your flight?"

"0700."

He nodded, then looked down again.

"Well, we've still got a couple hours."

They walked slowly around the concourse loop, carrying on menial conversation with each other as they passed the various shops and restaurants. Though she also sought to conceal her true feelings, Ellie was just as desperate to prolong the inevitable as he was.

"Oh, hey - you know, we should take a picture before I go."

Isaac sideglanced her, trying not to roll his eyes.

"What? Why?"

"Come on. It'll be nice to have something to be remembered by. Unless _you_ don't want to remember _me_."

Again he looked at her, then sighed.

"Of course I do. Alright, let's take a damn picture."

Delighted to win his consent, Ellie started looking around for a decent backdrop. They were standing on a pedestrian walkway bridge within a massive, cylindrical glass enclosure that boasted a wide open view of outer space all around, and the entire area was flooded with tangent peach hues of light tossed about by the sun's rays coming from the west.

"C'mon, over here."

Isaac followed her toward the edge of the walkway bridge, and he leaned against the railing as she prepped the camera on her RIG then stepped up next to him. She raised her arm and held the capture device on her sleeve out in front of them, and Isaac held a quiet, reserved pose with a strained smile as he looked into the camera's iris. Ellie followed suit, but couldn't resist touching her head to his shoulder in a subliminal attempt to memorialize her adoration for him just as the camera snapped.

"Ok - let's see."

She waited a moment then checked the image on the screen, and when she saw it she beamed with joy.

"Perfect."

She held her RIG up for Isaac to see, and right away he noticed how beautiful her image was, how happy she appeared to be with her head gently sloped against his and a warm, inviting smile on her face. However, all he saw in his own visage was the deep, irreconcilable sadness he ultimately felt knowing that this picture would be the last he would ever see of her. She looked into his eyes with a tender smile, and she lowered her arm.

"Here, I'll send you a copy of it."

With a few quick motions across her RIG Ellie messaged it to him, and he smiled in confirmation he had received it.

"Thanks."

* * *

As the time for Ellie's flight closed in, they both began a reluctant return to the flightport. When they entered the main terminal, Ellie wasted no time examining the overhead itinerary boards to figure out where her flight would be boarding. Again Isaac stood back, keeping quiet and out of her business until she turned back around to him.

"Gate 16."

She started off down the walkway toward the security checkpoint and Isaac followed, watching her from behind with saddened eyes as she led the way. He carried her bag while they traversed the terminal, as he was anxious to do anything he could for her knowing he would not be allowed past the checkpoint. His heart ached as they approached the first set of stanchions that marked the start of the line.

"Well, looks like it's just you from here on out."

Ellie turned around and looked at him, feeling her chest tighten, and she drew a slow breath.

"Uh huh. Now it's time for you to have some space, and for me to get back to my thing."

"Yep."

Ellie smiled and patted his arm.

"Now, let's see... I should be settled in a day or two, so if you're bored, gimme me a call. You told me not to call you, so..."

Isaac just stared at her, able to express the agony he felt inside only through an odd, out of place simper. It shook her confidence, reminding her of how adamant he had been about severing any connections that might put her at risk.

"You will keep in touch... Right, Isaac?"

Knowing that in all probability he would never speak to her ever again, he was hesitant to look into her eyes.

"Of course I will."

His tone wasn't very reassuring, and Ellie's expression slowly fell until he briefly feared she might cry. But she shook it off.

"Oh - and don't forget to get in touch with Alan. Seriously. I told him you're looking for work, and he's got some things lined up for you. He could use the help."

Isaac nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I will. Thanks for that, by the way."

Not knowing what else to say, Ellie just looked into his eyes with an awkward smile, and they shared in a moment of uncomfortable silence. Finally, Isaac initiated the sendoff by offering her his hand.

"You take care now, Ellie Langford. Thank you. For everything."

She looked down at his hand with a smirk.

"A handshake? Seriously?"

Her face spread into a fragile smile, then she opened her arms and embraced him.

"No, thank _you_."

She caught Isaac completely off guard and his first reaction was to avoid touching her, but he eventually found it in him to return a reluctant hug - one that inevitably evolved into a firm, heartfelt embrace. The longer he held her the less he wanted to let her go, a fear he knew all too well as the voices inside his head were gathering in anticipation of her departure. He could see the demons' monstrous forms manifesting from the shadows, ready to descend upon him like vultures, to taunt him, jeer at him, lying in wait for the exact moment he would be alone so they could tear him to pieces.

"... Ok, then."

Anxious to get it over with he broke their embrace first and stepped back, somewhat coldly, and offered no further response than to hand her her bag. Coming to realize that their short-lived hug would prove to be all she was going to get out of him, she took the bag from his hand.

"It's been a real blast, Isaac. You take care of yourself, yeah?"

He pulled his hands behind his back, afraid they might suddenly take on a mind of their own and reach for her again.

"Yeah. Go live a beautiful life. See ya around."

"You betcha."

Ellie glanced over her shoulder at the flight itinerary board one more time. Making a quick assessment of her gate number she turned around, squeezing away burgeoning tears she fought to hide, and started down the line toward the security checkpoint. Isaac watched her with hard, unblinking eyes, and just before she reached the checkpoint she turned back around. They met eye contact, and she waved at him one last time before disappearing through the gate. When he finally lost track of her, the forced smile he had barely been holding on to vanished from his face.

"... Bye." _  
_

Now that he was all alone, Isaac had no idea what to do with himself. He felt permanently broken; it had been so long since he had lived a normal life without being trapped under the hawkish eyes of his captors, and without Ellie's company the prospect of returning to a normal routine seemed so alien and out of reach for him. His eyes fell despondently to the floor in search of anything that might give him guidance on what to do next, but after finding nothing to go on he finally shoved his hands into his pockets and headed toward the exit at the opposite end of the flight terminal.

When he stepped back out onto the open concourse, everything - from the buildings to the mezzanines, from the bustling crowd to the plethora of lights, even the sun - appeared gray, dim, lifeless.

 _Without his friend, none of it seemed to matter anymore._

* * *

Ellie made her way through security and arrived at her gate, but she and the other passengers were made to wait due to some minor technical delays that pushed the flight's departure time back. She glared at the announcement kiosk with a hint of annoyance, then began to pace the floor anxiously, trying not to think about Isaac while the seconds dragged by. She tried to turn her thoughts to the new journey that lie ahead of her, and to where she would be stationed on Ceres, a cold, lonely satellite floating along the outskirts of Neptune's azure brilliance.

 _ _She had come so far._ They had come all this way, together. But for what?  
_

She began to question the choices which had led her to this moment, and how she could have let Isaac ultimately convince her to leave. Of course she appreciated from where he was coming, and she had to trust that he was strong, smart and capable enough to handle whatever challenges he had to face on his own. Still, considering all of the terrible things she had seen, how the Marker had affected him, and knowing that it had dramatically changed his life forever, she couldn't help but feel that his struggle to survive would be a losing proposition.

 _Would this be the last time she ever saw him? Would she come back some day to find he had been captured? Committed? Or worse, dead? Could she live with that, knowing that she could have, perhaps, made a difference?  
_

She drew a deep, shaking breath and glanced at her RIG, surprised to realize that nearly thirty minutes had passed while she had been lost in deliberation. She then looked back toward the gate to find that they had already resumed boarding at some point, and the other passengers were heading up the ramp. Feeling a lump forming in her throat as she watched them walk one by one through the boarding gate, Ellie looked down at the ticket in her hand.

 **NON REFUNDABLE - NON TRANSFERABLE**

With a budding sense of resolve, Ellie walked up to a nearby trash receptacle and tossed the ticket inside.

 _Everything happens for a reason. It was time that she made a difference.  
_

Ellie felt a tremendous weight lifted from her conscience while she watched the stub slip to the bottom of the basket. Then, eager to go find Isaac, she threw her bag over her shoulder and immediately headed for the terminal exit. Once she was outside, she scanned the crowded nearby establishments. She saw so many people, but no sign of Isaac.

 _It had been a half hour, at least. He could be anywhere by now._

She kept vigilant as she passed through the concourse, hoping she might run into him along the way, but the crowd was too thick. After searching around for about twenty minutes or so to no avail, she began to feel less optimistic, and ultimately figured she might as well go back to the apartment to wait for him.

 _He'd have to show up there eventually, so...  
_

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small, unoccupied outdoor seating area, concealed within an atrium between two buildings and out of range of the crowded concourse. She stopped and looked closer, seeing that all of the benches lining the area were empty - except for one. She could only see the back of his head, but instantly recognizing who it was she quietly slipped into the area and sneaked up behind the bench, being cautious not to give herself away.

With a steadfast gaze upon the dark expanse of space outside the glass walls, Isaac appeared to be oblivious to Ellie's presence even as she came right up to the bench and sat down on the opposite end of it. She sat next to him in silence for a few moments, back straight and anxiously waiting to see what he would say. When he didn't say anything, she turned her head toward the window and joined him in observation.

"... What happened?"

Suddenly hearing his voice, Ellie kept her eyes on the stars.

"Umm. Missed my flight."

Another moment of silence passed between them, and Ellie leaned back on the bench. She was startled by the warmth of Isaac's hand as he gently placed it atop hers, and when she glanced up, she saw that he was staring right at her.

"Christ, you're stubborn. Like every girl in my life."

She simpered, a little insecurely.

"Are you... surprised to see me?"

Isaac grinned to the side, then slowly nodded his head.

"...No."

Baffled, Ellie bent an eyebrow and shot her eyes back and forth.

"Soooo, I can stay, or what?"

He looked at her with a dark, tense expression that briefly instilled fear that he might still refuse her. Then, he leaned in and hugged her.

"Of course you can."

This time, his embrace was nothing like the reluctant attempt he had made earlier - it was strong, warm and filled with a sense of relief that instantaneously cleared any doubt in Ellie's mind as to how he really felt about her. The tears she had been holding back up to this point finally broke free and came forth, she buried her face against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. With a budding smile, he hugged her closer.

"Yeah. Fuck it. You can stay."

They shared in a peaceful quiet until something prompted him to pull back. She looked up at him as he gently wiped a couple tears from her cheeks. The smile on his face faded, weighed down once again by far more serious concerns.

"But, you have to listen to me, Ellie. If you're going to stay, then we have to get something absolutely clear right now."

Ellie straightened her back and stifled her sobbing.

"Yes... Yes, of course."

Isaac looked down, and not knowing where to begin, he stumbled at first.

"I've got some very...hmm. I mean... I really do appreciate that you..."

Becoming frustrated, Isaac grumbled and scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm... look... Ellie, I can't tell you where I'm headed, or make any guarantees about what's going to happen in the future... I've seen so many things I couldn't even have imagined before all of this. And I will never be the same that I was, because of it. You'll most likely never get to meet that person."

He released a slow, steady sigh.

"... I'm broken, Ellie. I know that doesn't have anything to do with you. But... if you choose to stay here, with me... then it's very important that you understand you may have to deal with some... crazy shit."

Ellie listened intently, putting two and two together.

"So... that's why you kept pushing me away. It is the Marker, isn't it? You don't want me to see..."

Isaac just stared shamefully at the ground.

"I don't know what to... I am so fucked up by all of this. I don't know which way is up, anymore."

His voice began to shiver and his eyes glossed over, spurring Ellie to wrap her hands about his.

"We'll get through this together."

He shook his head.

"I'm dangerous to everyone around me... I'm afraid those people are going to come after me. I'm afraid that these visions will never stop. And I am so afraid that if you stay, you're going to get hurt."

Ellie squeezed his hands in an attempt to reassure him.

"Listen to me. We'll find a way to fix you, I promise you that. And you can throw all the 'crazy shit' you like at me. I have a thing for it."

When even her attempt to joke failed to appease the heartbroken look upon his face, she patted his hand and chased down his evasive gaze until their eyes finally met.

"Hey. Trust me, love. We've got this. I've got you."

So moved he was by her gentle, angelic words of promise, Isaac could no longer resist the desire to kiss her. A tiny whimper escaped her throat as they connected, and when he pulled back, she looked at him in a daze.

"Wow. You're... you're a hard man to read."

He shrugged, and tossed his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I know I have a tendency to fluctuate... It's a Gemini thing."

She couldn't help but laugh as she wrapped her arm lovingly around his, overjoyed to watch as the emotional barrier wall he had erected between them finally came down. She took a moment to gently stroke his hand atop hers, unable to suppress a seductive, ever widening smile as they both turned to gaze upon the awe inspiring view of the universe in front of them.

"Well, now that's over with, what happens next?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

With all his fears put to rest about their separation, Isaac became quite emboldened by his newfound freedom with Ellie. By the time they got back to Red Moon his behavior had completely reversed course, and his distant, restrained sense of friendliness had quickly evolved into a far more obvious struggle to keep his thoughts clean and his hands to himself. In between their small talk he kept leaning into her, kissing the side of her face, running his hands along her arms, and making his desire to get closer to her more evident along the walk back - mutual feelings of which Ellie was more than willing to reciprocate. As if some floodgate had been opened, it was all such a far cry from the shy, brooding introvert she had known just an hour ago, and it pleased her more than anything to know his true feelings. She teased him.

"So, looks like you won't turn to stone if you touch me, after all."

He grunted humorously at her sarcasm.

"Smartass."

With the brazen pride of a peacock Isaac clung to Ellie's side as they passed through the apartment complex lobby, and some of the tenants loitering there. Ignoring the unsightly gathering they quickly made their way to the elevator, and when the door slid open on the fourth floor they stepped out together arm in arm, feeling it almost impossible to separate. The hallway was empty, and with no one watching they finally let their unfulfilled desires get the better of them. Isaac playfully leaned into her once more, sending her off balance and she veered off toward the wall. Laughing, she turned around to face him as he closed in behind her, and they started to kiss each other with rising enthusiasm as they slid their way along the wall toward the apartment.

They remained locked on one another as they approached the door, and Isaac fumbled to open the hololock. The door finally slid open, and without taking their eyes off each other they slipped in through the doorway. Once they were inside and the door closed they stood on the other side of it, continuing to kiss and pet each other until Ellie felt Isaac's hand slip around her waist and begin to tug at her shirt. She suddenly pulled back, her face and neck ablush.

"Heh... I uh, I could use a drink. And take this damn RIG off."

Isaac just smiled at her in response, and watched with eager eyes as she walked into the kitchen to reach for a glass on the counter. She filled it with water from the dispenser, took a deep sip to quench her thirst then placed it down, wiping her lips with the back of her other hand.

"Mmm. That's good."

Isaac walked up to the other side of the counter across from her, sat down on one of the bar stools and planted his elbow on the table, resting his chin against it, and gazed at her with a pensive grin while she took a few minutes to remove her RIG. Without a word he picked up the glass she had been drinking from, which was still about a quarter of the way full, and proceeded to finish it off. When he put the glass back down, he smiled again.

"I still can't believe you were gonna go to Ceres. That place is a shithole."

Without looking up, she slipped her RIG off her shoulders and placed it down.

"Is that so? You've been?"

Isaac responded only with a silent nod, then went quiet for a few moments. Then, he looked up at her again, a little curiosity in his eyes.

"So, why did you stay?"

Ellie blinked and then shook her head.

"I don't understand what you mean."

As if he didn't believe her, Isaac tossed his hand and looked down at the counter with a wry grin.

"You just met me, Ellie. It's not like we have any real ties, you have no idea who I am... I could be a complete psychopath."

"You're not a psychopath."

He rolled his eyes.

"Ok. And after everything you've seen so far, knowing what I'm up against... why would you stay here, with me?"

The smile started to slip from her face, as she suddenly felt very much exposed by the gravity of his question. Considering where they were just thirty seconds ago, she wasn't expecting him to put her on the spot like this. She looked down, feeling awkward.

"... I don't know."

"I think you do. Tell me."

She sighed.

"... There's just... something about you. About this whole situation. I don't really understand anything about the Markers, or what you have to do with them, but... obviously, you're not an ordinary person. You've survived so much... _we_ survived... I mean, without you, I would have never gotten out of there. I know it. That kind of thing doesn't happen for no reason. And whatever it is, whatever great thing you're destined for, I just, I want to be a part of it. A part of what you're doing. I somehow got the opportunity to get involved, I can't just walk away."

As he listened to her, Isaac furrowed his brow.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

Ellie nodded.

"Yes, you are. You already have. Your journey doesn't end here. But I have a feeling that by the end of it..."

He cut her off impatiently.

"That part of my life is over. Yes, we did survive for a reason - because we got the fuck out of there, that's why. I'm not a hero, Ellie. Don't start concocting that idea in your head."

Feeling a little bruised by his admonishing tone, Ellie frowned and looked down.

"You're a hero to me."

Her reply felt like a punch to his gut, and he immediately regretted having been so brusque with her.

"... I didn't rescue you because I'm a hero. I did it because I fucked up the first time. You were my shot at getting it right."

Her frown slipped a bit further.

"That's all?"

He looked back up.

"I didn't mean it like that. I could've rescued anybody if that were the case."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

"Now you're questioning _my_ motives?"

Ellie smirked at him.

"Oh, I get it. Damsel in distress, right?"

"Hey, wait a minute..."

"Isaac, we're not even in a relationship and already you've tried to dump me twice."

He looked at her, pulling a hard, taught grin of incredulity.

"What the hell is going on, here? What's with the shakedown, huh?"

"Why do you have such a problem with..."

She stopped herself, holding her tongue.

"... nevermind."

Isaac leaned into his hand, sensing she was holding back.

"Look, I have a lot of problems. If you start getting hung up already, then... I don't know what to tell you. You're gonna get worn out real quick."

Ellie finally released an exasperated sigh, and dropped her hands onto the counter.

"Ok - I think we got off track, here. All I was trying to say is that I admire you. I really care about you. I just, you know... hope it's real, both ways."

"It is. You wouldn't be here, otherwise."

She shook her head.

"You're right, we did just meet, and I'm already... I'm sorry."

Looking genuinely apologetic she hung her head, and with a reassuring smile Isaac took a hold of her hand.

"Hey. We may have just met, but we aren't strangers."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I know that you care. And I like the fact that you're feisty. It's a turn-on."

Her eyes shot up at him and he flashed a smile, encouraging her to do the same. She then came around the counter, and Isaac kept his eyes on her as she approached him.

"... Yeah. So, about that..."

Feeling the excitement between them returning they gazed into each others' eyes with revealing smiles, until Ellie closed in and planted her lips against his. They gently locked onto each other for a few moments, then all of a sudden, excitedly began removing each other's clothes.

Isaac quickly unthreaded his RIG and slipped it off, then his jacket as Ellie reached for his belt and unfastened it. She tugged his shirt up and he assisted her in getting it over his head, and after tossing it to the floor he reached for the comb holding her hair in place and released it, freeing her long, auburn locks. His hands then reached for her blouse and he started hastily unfastening the buttons, and when the final button came undone he slipped the shirt off her shoulders. When his eyes fell upon her naked torso, he suddenly stopped.

"... What the hell?"

Ellie looked at him a little wide eyed, then dismissively.

"Oh, yeah. It's not as bad as it looks."

Isaac's face hung sadly as he examined the large, dark mass of bruising that ran along parts of her back, her rib cage, and the side of one of her breasts.

"When did this happen?"

"I told you it's ok. Don't fuss over it."

Isaac had had no idea, and it scared him. His blackouts, the vanishing act Ellie had pulled earlier that day, and her rather sudden decision to leave for Ceres all started threading suspicion in his mind as to what might have motivated her actions. He ran his hands nervously across his head, knowing that while he personally wasn't capable of such a heinous act, the Marker was a completely different story.

"I, I didn't -"

Seeing the panicked look on his face, Ellie immediately shook her head.

"What? No. Nothing like... Why in the world would you think that? You think I'd still be here?"

He didn't answer her, so she shrugged.

"... It happened when I was fighting with Nolan. He threw me up against the wall a couple of times pretty hard."

Though he took her word for it, Isaac was still devastated as he looked her over. Ellie just glanced down at herself, hardly appearing to take it as seriously as he did.

"You can touch it. It doesn't hurt."

In order to assure him it was okay, Ellie took his hand and gently placed it upon the bruised side of her breast.

"See?"

He replied with a long, bereaved sigh as he felt the warmth of her breast beneath his hand, but it didn't take very long for his concerns to fade in the wake of his growing desire to have her. He wrapped his hands around her waist and eagerly walked her back toward the bed. Gracefully following his lead Ellie unzipped his trousers, keeping her lips pressed to his as he began doing the same for her, and by the time they reached the side of the bed they were both standing stark naked in each other's embrace. Their bodies were at full attention as they ran their hands and lips across each other with gentle moans and deepening breaths, but just as Ellie thought he was about to take her down, Isaac suddenly stopped what he was doing. He froze, his eager groping had ground to a halt, and he just stared at her with a blank, empty gape.

"What's wrong now?"

He shook his head, then smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Ellie tilted her head.

"Really, what is it?"

Isaac twisted his lip, then looked down at her breasts with a hint of embarrassment.

"Umm... It's just that... it's been a long time since I've been this close to a girl. I almost forgot how nice it feels. And trust me, I know how pathetic that sounds."

Watching him blush, Ellie smiled and softly ran her hand across his cheek.

"It doesn't sound pathetic."

"You're beautiful, Ellie. You're so beautiful. I certainly wasn't expecting you at the end of all this... and I'm just trying to take it all in, that's all. If I don't pace myself, then this won't be worth your time... if you catch my drift."

Ellie raised an eyebrow at him as he gently swept a lock of her hair away from her face.

"... Oh."

He realized she didn't quite understand at first, and with a tiny simper he started to blush even deeper. Then, when she finally caught what it was he was trying to tell her, she glanced down between his legs and broke a seductive smile.

"Ohhh! Say no more, I totally get you. Of course, we can take it as slow as you want."

She then flashed a mocking grin, and playfully covered her breasts with her hands to tease him.

"Should I put my clothes back on, then?"

Isaac looked at her and laughed.

"No, no. That won't be necessary."

Again she smiled, then slowly sat down on the bed, taking his hand in hers.

"So, where do we go from here?"

Following her gesture he sat down on the bed next to her, softly running his hand up her thigh.

"Hmm. Let's explore that kissing thing a little bit more. I'd like that. Then, we'll see where that takes us."


End file.
